Rumored
by Ris Fallon
Summary: It's not the first time she's met him, but it seems to Jun that it's the first time she's really seen him. After bumping into him everywhere she goes, she begins to suspect she's been chasing after the wrong blond for far too long.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** This is a story in response to **YinYangWhiteTiger**'s crack challenge in the forum "World of Digimon". I suggest you check it out, by the way. There's lots of interesting and really helpful discussions going on all the time. Anyways, the challenge is to pair Jun up with any character (with a few exceptions, which I'm happy for because it bans really typical pairings) and mix it up with a whole lot of drama and angst.

**Added note:** I'm hoping to have this done by July 8th, but I think that might not be realistic. Unfortunately, if I miss _that_ deadline, the story will be on hiatus until July 19 as I don't think I'll have internet access when I go to New Jersey for vacation.

* * *

_He_ had a concert tonight. And _she_ planned on maintaining her perfect attendance record, even if he rarely spoke to her anymore without being approached. It made her sad to think of the first time they'd met. She'd asked him to sign her shirt, and he'd complied willingly and with a bright rock star smile on his face. But now, she could see from a mile away the look he fixed her with. Unease. He wasn't used to being the sole contender for one girl's affection. He was used to his average fan girls.

Jun Motimiya snorted to herself as she faced her mirror, a dark denim mini-skirt hugging her hips and a canary yellow halter top decorating her top. She was _anything_ but the average fan girl, she thought. She did anything and everything to get his attention, and trilled at the thought of getting even a second alone with him. She'd spent hours daydreaming, hoping, _praying_ to see those gorgeous sapphire eyes lock onto hers. She knew his favorite color, food, clothing brands, and mode of transportation. She knew the shampoo he used, the gel he worshiped, the car he drove, and his GPA in school. Hell, sometimes Jun suspected she knew Yamato Ishida better than he knew himself!

So why couldn't he tear his eyes from that silly little redhead for just _one minute_?

The thought drove her mad. Truly, deeply mad. Of course, some would argue that she'd gone down that path a long time ago, but those people were mostly family and therefor could be ignored. She never had paid attention to what was whispered about her. She was much too busy scheming and planning and waiting for her precious moment to come to care what _other_ people thought.

The only person who's thoughts mattered, in Jun's world, was Yamato.

Content with her clothing choice, Jun turned to her vanity. She still had make up to do, and accessories to decide on. Not to mention shoes, the most important accessory that could make or break the world's most amazing outfit. And she _had_ to have the most amazing outfit. She had to catch Yamato's eye, and had to capture his heart. This was his last concert in town before the Teenage Wolves went to Osaka for a week, and her mother had strictly forbidden her to try ditch her studies and job to go see them. That had put quite a damper on her mood, considering her attendance record. But no matter. No one could say she wasn't a fan.

Or fanatic, as the case may be.

One finger tapped Jun's lower lip in thought as she regarded her jewelry selection. She sighed sadly, dark brown eyes scanning her assorted earrings with distaste. She couldn't believe she'd really forgotten to buy a new pair while she was out, but then... she only had so much of her allowance left, and hell would be damned before Daisuke would lend her money, she knew. The thought didn't make her too sad though. It was the same vice versa, unless one sibling had gotten the other out of a tight spot with Mom and Dad. That was the only time money exchanged hands between them.

She exhaled loudly as she removed the finger from her lip, reaching for a pair of black plastic earrings. Three hoops of different sizes hung from the gleaming faux diamond studs, causing them to brush lightly against her neck once they were in. She smiled a little to herself. Those would have to do. Her shoes were decided a little more quickly, and with less regret as she looked over her selection. A pair of dull leather mid-calf boots practically screamed at her from the back of her closet, and she fought to release them. In her mind's eye, they were perfect and tied her entire outfit together.

Flirty, with a hint of rock edge, she thought. She couldn't have done a better job if she'd really tried (hours of picking and choosing aside, of course.)!

"Juuuuun," came an irritated voice from the other side of the closed door. It belonged to her friend Ami, she'd recognize it anywhere. Jun couldn't resist rolling her eyes. The girl was so impatient. Didn't she realize perfection wasn't accomplished in fifteen minutes?

Honestly...

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying," she insisted, sliding three half-inch plastic bangles onto her wrist before running her fingers through her hair. Not too neat, not too messy (she thought). Just right. She took a deep breath and twisted the brass doorknob in her hand. Now was the moment to reveal the result of her hard work, the moment of truth. She grinned at her dark-haired, green-eyed friend as she did a small twirl on the spot. "Whatcha think?"

"You spent an hour and a half doing_ that_," Daisuke asked incredulously from where he sat on the couch watching a soccer tournament on the television screen. Spain versus Germany. He'd been talking of nothing else for the past two days.

"Shut up, Squirt," Jun ordered, glaring. But it didn't phase him, the goggle head was far too used to threats and glares from Miyako to be greatly affected by his sister's. He merely smirked a little, stuffing his mouth with another handful of popcorn.

"You look great," Ami insisted before Jun could think of anything more venomous to say to repair her bruised ego. Her hand latched onto Jun's wrist and was pulling her towards the door to the Motimiya apartment, and Jun pouted. She had a feeling Ami'd barely registered more than the fact that she was clothed.

"Uh huh."

"You do. Now come _on_. I don't feel like standing like _last_ time you had to achieve perfection," Ami pressed. Ami's other hand grabbed first Jun's small yellow purse from the table (she'd bought it to match the shirt she was wearing now) and tossed it to her before grabbing her own slim black clutch. Ami wasn't into being showy or loud like Jun was. She went to enjoy good music, not the view.

Sometimes, Jun wondered how they'd become friends to begin with.

"But I like standing," the purple-haired girl insisted when they had closed to apartment door behind them with a snap and a click. The name plate hanging on the door by a nail swung gently before settling back into place as the two teenagers began their way towards the elevator. "I want Matt to hear me cheer for him."

"People in China can hear you cheering, Jun," Ami teased with a sigh. She had released Jun's wrist now that they were out of the house and moving, so the girls were walking side-by-side. It gave Jun the chance to take in Ami's outfit of choice, now that she wasn't forced to stare at the long curtain of thin black hair from behind. Much more concerned about comfort than appearance, Ami had opted for a pair of dark wash jeans and her old green Converse low rises. A white screen tee with different colored neon hearts that had the word 'love' written in each of them (a different language every time) completed the outfit. Simple, but pretty. Ami was always like that. She was gorgeous, and didn't even care. It drove Jun mad.

"I just want him to know I'm there," she huffed, crossing her arms childishly over her chest as she spoke. She could sometimes get defensive of her crush on the lead singer of the band. So many people teased her about aiming for the stars, and her father once made a teasing remark that it was a good thing she was hoping to marry money with all the shopping she liked to do.

"I know," Ami replied simply. They'd had this conversation before. It was a pretty common topic for Jun. She had her lines practically memorized, and Ami nodded and feigned sympathy when really she was wondering if she should have brought a book to read for intermission.

"I mean, _that girl_ doesn't even cheer. You realize that, don't you," Jun demanded, and Ami nodded as she leaned against the 'down' arrow on the elevator button. A clanging emitted from beyond the closed steal doors as the elevator made its slow ascent to their floor. Ami stared at the small crack between the doors as Jun continued, her rant only seeming to build up steam as she continued babbling on. "What kind of...of..._girlfriend_," Jun hissed, as though the word that she so longed to be called while she clung to Yamato's word was now a forbidden curse, "doesn't even cheer for her boyfriend? And at a rock concert? Who just _sits _there and smiles at a rock concert?"

"I wouldn't mind, personally," Ami said. A small half-smile told Jun that her friend was teasing her .Well, a little anyways. She knew that Ami didn't care one way or another if she was standing or dancing. Actually, she couldn't think of anything Ami _was_ particularly enthusiastic about.

She was so level headed, it actually scared Jun sometimes.

"He deserves better," Jun said resolutely, scowling slightly. The elevator doors slid open, and Ami gave her elbow a gentle nudge to get her to enter.

"Does he now," she asked vaguely, sounding like a parent trying to respond to a conversation they hadn't been paying attention to in the first place. Jun rolled her eyes, but let it drop. For the moment, anyways. She had more pressing things to worry about, like finding her ticket in the jumbled mess of old concert and movie ticket stubs, make up, loose change, and two compact mirrors. Ami said nothing, though the corners of her mouth twitched upwards in amusement as she watched with calm green eyes.

And it stayed that way as they stepped out into the brightly lit, overly-air-conditioned lobby. They crossed it in relative silence, the only noise coming from people passing by and Jun muttering once that the manager of the place had no blood, it was so cold. But even that passed quickly, for soon enough they had stepped out into an unseasonably warm spring night. Given time, Jun would be sighing about the heat and forget all about the chilly lobby.

"Wait," Jun said, pausing on the sidewalk. Ami froze, a couple steps ahead, and half-turned. Her expression was impatient. They were already running late, her eyes seemed to be saying, what the hell was it now? "Aren't we taking your car?"

"Are you insane," Ami asked her bluntly. She was pulling Jun along by the hand again, causing Jun to keep at a slow jog in order to keep up with the longer-legged girl. "Do you realize," she asked with deliberate slowness, as though letting each word sink in on its own, "how _horrendous_ traffic will be? I mean, even for Tokyo! And don't get me _started_... And you tell me Daisuke is the slow one," she added in a low mutter. But it wasn't so low that Jun didn't hear it.

"Heyyyy," she said angrily, about to protest. But Ami just shook her head, though all the proof Jun had of that was the shimmer in the curtain of black silk before she was yanked along, towards the subway terminal.

"We need to hurry!!"

At first, Jun didn't understand the rush. Okay, they were a tiny bit behind schedule. Yeesh! It wasn't that big a deal, she thought, exasperated. But her eyes caught the glowing numbers above the maps of Tokyo and all of Japan when they reached the bottom of the stares. Her breath caught in her throat, and it felt as though someone had their hands around her throat and was cutting off the flow of oxygen. Foolishly, she even raised her free hand to her neck as though to check.

But there was no one there. Only the shock that they had not even–

"Ten minutes," she shrieked, causing Ami to let go of her hand as the only-slightly calmer girl winced from the noise. "Ten?!" It was impossible. Impossible!

"Let's go. Quick," Ami insisted, pulling Jun along again. But this time it was less out of urgency, and more out of a desire to _not_ get separated by the seething crowd. Jun detested the subways. She avoided them like plagues when she could, but now there wasn't any choice.

She heard Ami ask for two tickets, and Jun didn't get the chance to pull out her own money before Ami was dragging her away, towards one of the train cars. Ugh, how she _didn't_ want to get on that thing. But she did it, and wound up crammed against the opposite door as they slid closed ("We did it!" she screamed at Ami, who merely looked relieved as she stood with only one person between them). A grunt next to her as the crowd squirmed uncomfortably and shifted on its feet alerted Jun to the fact that she was also pressed against a boy about the same age as Daisuke. His blond hair resembled golden hay stacks in the summer time, and he was tall enough that she could see his eyes were as bright as the season's sky. They made her stare for a moment, before she'd realized what she was doing and tore her eyes away.

He was _cute_, she decided. Not hot, like Yamato was to her. But cute in his own way.

"Yamato's gonna kill me," she heard him mutter distinctly, his head turned away from her. Having just convinced herself to observe the rest of the subway's inhabitants, his words made her snap her head back so quickly she thought her neck cricked. She rubbed it, wincing.

"Yamato... As in the singer in The Teenage Wolves," she asked bluntly, unashamed to admit she'd been eavesdropping (after all, her mind reasoned, it _had_ been an accident). He blinked, and then nodded, a smile forming. Something similar to pride made his eyes burn brighter. It almost discomforted her to look directly into them. So she focused for the bridge of his nose, which was slender and attractively straight.

"Yea. I'm... supposed to already be there," he admitted with a guilty shrug. "But I fell asleep."

"Better than what _Jun_ did," Ami's voice said from Jun's other side, making her jump. The person who had been between them seemed to have wormed his way over to the door they'd come in from. She could just barely make out the back of his balding head. Jun glowered at her friend, who continued on as though she hadn't noticed. "Jun took so long getting ready, we're close to missing the show."

Jun almost missed the strange look that he had fixed her with when Ami mentioned her name. But as soon as it came, it was gone– replaced by a sly smile as he chuckled. He slid his cell phone from his pocket, glancing at the time before sliding it out of view again without a change in his expression.

"You won't miss the show," he promised. Jun's eyes widened skeptically as Ami's dark eyebrows disappeared in the fringe that hung over her forehead. As though answering a question that no one had voiced, he told them, "I can get you in."

"How," Jun demanded, though she was thrilled. So what if they were running a few minutes late? She would get to see Yamato! She wouldn't miss his last show in town! But her question was never answered, because just as he opened his mouth, the subway screeched to a stop and a cool male voice spoke over the intercom, barely heard over the movement of bodies and jabbering of tens of voices.

"_Please exit in a timely and orderly fashion_," the voice commanded, but few listened. There was some shoving, some dawdling in the doorway as people hesitated whether or not this was the right spot. The newly formed trio pushed and dodged around these people, all taking a deep breath and the liberty of stretching once they were free of the subway mob scene.

"Can we just walk the extra half-hour home," Jun asked Ami, miserable at the thought of taking the subway again that day. Unreasonable fear, yea right. That thing would drive a claustrophobe into hysterics! Ami, despite her casual demeanor, followed Jun's gaze with an expression that confessed she was thinking along similar lines.

"Sure. Why not? It's not as though I'm in a rush to get home," she shrugged indifferently. But a look at her cell phone tightened her mouth into a thin line. "But we should be more worried about getting to the concert."

"Don't worry about it," the boy said. He was still smiling that sneaky smile again, and he nodded his head in the direction of the performance hall. They could see it from there, the tall building on the next block over. In unspoken agreement, all three broke out in a run (Jun was pulling up the rear. She'd never been good at running, in all honesty.). They didn't slow until, panting and holding their knees as they tried get their breath back. Jun, gasping, looked around to see where they had stopped.

"Where–" she began, not recognizing the lot they were standing in, but she was cut off.

"It's the back of the concert hall," she was told simply. He shook his shaggy blond hair from in front of his face, and grinned. He dug from his pocket a key, which Jun presumed opened the back door. "Let's go, before I'm missed." He said it jokingly, his tone lighthearted, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Would Yamato be that annoyed that he was a few minutes late, she wondered mildly. But then, Daisuke had told her that he'd seen Mr. Calm-Cool-and-Collected lose his temper a few times. She'd never let that damage her personal image of Yamato, though. The shrimp tended to bring out some of her worst temper flares, and Jun didn't doubt that he had a similar impact on others.

"Don't sweat it," he grinned, jogging over to the door. It was heavy, one of those metal fire-safe ones. Jun wondered how he had the energy to run all the way here, then _jog_ to the door, and still be able to open that thing without collapsing. But she was grateful he wasn't expecting the two girls to be able to accomplish the same feat. He held the door for them as they walked through, feeling as though they were trespassing even though they had tickets and everything. The door seemed to close too loudly, a crash that echoed in Jun's ears. She resisted the urge to cover them with her hands, and looked around. They were standing in a narrow, dimly lit hall. It reminded her of a business office after hours.

"It feels deserted," Ami murmured. Jun nodded her silent agreement.

"Everyone's by the stage. We won't get caught," the blond confirmed. He lead the way down the hall, his footsteps confident and sure as he led them down one hallway, and stepped into branching halls. They followed without question, still paranoid that their voices would carry and they'd be thrown out. "Just here," he whispered, and Jun understood why he was suddenly cautious. She could hear the sweet sound of Yamato's voice, shouting out to a cheering and energized crowd. The concert had begun. Ami tugged on her arm, and Jun looked over to see that Takeru was propping a door open for them. On the other side, it was darker. Much darker, with probes and disco lights momentarily illuminating random faces in the crowd that they should already have been a part of.

"Let's hurry," Ami whispered, hurrying her along. Jun didn't argue, though she half turned at the door, expecting their blond mystery boy to follow. He shook his head, pointing to a door not ten feet along.

"I'm supposed to be there," he told her, and she understood that that was the door that led backstage. Surprisingly, she felt a small pang of remorse. If not for him, she'd have lost her record. Her spotless, unmarred attendance record. She tried to thank him, even if just a quick, silent mouthing of the words. But he just shook his head again, pushing her through the frame and beginning to shut the door before she could look shocked.

"Jun, let's _move_," Ami snapped impatiently. It was quite an adventure for the wallflower, much more rushing was done that evening than she was used to. Needless to say, her good mood was beginning to wear off as Jun stared at the closed door. Jun nodded to show she heard her, but she hadn't really. She couldn't seem to tear her eyes away, although in the back of her mind she knew security would be along soon enough to ask what they were doing there. She felt her arm being tugged again before Ami gave up and let it fall limp. "What's wrong?"

"I never asked his name. Did you?"

Ami was silent for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I didn't."

"Neither did I." She didn't know why, but it made her sad. Miserable, even. He'd helped them, sneaked them into the concert she so badly wanted to attend, and she hadn't even thought to say "I'm Jun, and you?" It made her wanna kick herself with her own heeled boots. But Ami didn't give Jun time to think on it much longer. She nudged Jun's elbow and pointed. Two men in Security Navy Blue were headed their way. Jun started.

"Let's move," Ami insisted, and Jun finally complied. They ducked their heads, weaving through the dancing, screaming teenage crowd towards their usual section. Jun pursed her lips together as she spotted Sora's conspicuous flaming red hair in the front row seats. Sitting quietly, beside Taichi. Some girlfriend, Jun thought (not for the first time). Yamato's band was kicking up a new song, and she let herself forget the fact that his hair was the same shade of goldenrod as the Mystery Subway Guy, or that his eyes (she remembered their exact shade) were the same color azure. No, concerts were about music and showing your colors. And with a scream that would rattle Tokyo Tower, she let herself become immersed in it just as she always had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** It's nice to see this story is getting some love. So I guess I'll keep my own promise and work on this story quickly. I like the direction it's going in, it was a lot more fun to write the first chapter than I anticipated. This chapter was hard to write though, Jun feels so forced. Oh well, read and review. And enjoy, naturally.

And yea, I failed horribly with my deadline because this chapter was SO difficult. Sorry!! Not my fault that the people I'm going away with told me the wrong day and therefor RUINED my schedule. So although this is a short update, at least it's AN update.

* * *

"_I turn around, I can see what's behind me. I turn back around and I can see what's..._"

Jun screamed, a loud and shrill scream that made the people on either side of her wince from the sound. Ami, much too used to it to be affected anymore, just stood there, tapping her foot to the beat and mouthing the words silently. She had a pretty singing voice– Jun had heard it once when she'd slept over and used their shower– but it was rare that it was heard. Like now, for instance. But Jun wasn't paying much attention to her. She only had eyes for the blond rock star singing on stage, who's hands would have been gripping the microphone stand with passionate fire if they hadn't been strumming away on his guitar.

The oh-so familiar sight of the long-haired blond had pushed any lingering thoughts of the Mystery Boy out of Jun's head almost immediately. She quickly fell into the familiar routine of cheering, admiring, fawning, and swooning that she'd developed over the past year. After all, he wasn't just good looking. He was talented, kind,...

And taken, Jun scowled as the fans began to file out in clumps and swarms. She was always one of the last ones to leave the concerts, and it was one of the few things Ami didn't even try argue with her about. She just sat there, flipping through a tourist pamphlet someone had dropped on the floor nearby. Probably trying to figure out how to keep Jun from running to Osaka, probably, she thought with unwilling amusement.

"There he is," Ami murmured, surprising Jun. She had looked so into her pamphlet, she hadn't noticed those green eyes flickering up to the stage every few minutes. But now, Jun followed her gaze eagerly. Unfortunately, eagerness dissolved into bitter disappointment as she saw Yamato's arms embrace Sora, who had jumped out of her seat as he approached her. She stepped back from the embrace ("Idiot," grumbled Jun enviously while Ami patted her arm.), just as another blond came into view beyond Yamato.

Suddenly, Jun was suspicious as to which 'he' Ami's announcement had been referring to.

"Wait..." Jun was quiet for a moment. She knew that boy. Now that they were all in their proper settings– Jun, sitting in the stands, and him, with his brother and friends– Jun would recognize the smile and that laugh. Even if she couldn't hear it, she could recognize it. Oh god. Oh hell.

Her Mystery Boy could_ not_ be Takeru Takaishi.

But unfortunately for her, it was. She didn't need Yamato to jokingly give him a noogie to be able to tell. Denying it wouldn't do any good. Her stomach flipped as he laughed again, and she stood up so quickly Ami blinked up at her in alarm.

"I'm not feeling well," she said mechanically, but her fists were too tightly clenched and her breathing was too quick for Ami to believe that. She was tense like a wild kitten learning to hunt. She needed air, just a little fresh air to clear her head.

He must have recognized her. He _must_ have! She thought back to the train ride, when he heard her name... that strange look in his eyes hadn't been strange at all. It had been recognition, she realized with a jolt. But then she scowled. He could have said something then, but he didn't, the little brat! Trust one of _Daisuke's_ friends to be like that.

Ami glanced around before hesitantly rising to her feet. "But there's still nearly a third of the crowd," she told Jun, although the other was hardly in any mood to listen. Her eyes kept flitting in his direction, and she hated that leap of butterflies in her gut every time her eyes lingered for more than a second. She felt nauseated. Why did he have to be so damned nice earlier?

And why did she care, honestly?

"I've had enough of blond-gazing for one day," she said simply, grabbing her purse from the seat she _would_ have been sitting in if she hadn't been on her feet screaming and dancing all night. Ami, still looking totally confused, hastened to follow as Jun stormed out the exit, turning a sharp left and continuing in that direction until Ami quietly pointed out that it wasn't the way home.

"What's wrong," Ami asked finally, sounding thoroughly confused. She had grabbed Jun's wrist so she couldn't keep walking and ignore her. When Jun still didn't answer her, the raven-haired girl decided to make a few guesses of her own. "I thought you wanted to know his name. We could have stayed."

Silence. Jun rose her chin defiantly, refusing to look back at the green eyes that were drilling holes into her head as they sought out the answers Ami wanted.

"I'm really tired. You know, running here and stuff," Jun said. Her tone was that of forced calm, and she had to take a deep breath to keep it that way. All she could really think of was going home and drilling Daisuke. Irrationally, she suspected he had known. Or something. It was the kind of thing he'd find hysterical, she thought. "I wanna get home, kay?"

"Let's grab some coffee first," Ami said, steering her across the street ("CARS, Ami," Jun squeaked as headlights aimed for them.). One hand was still holding Jun's wrist, the other was applying pressure to the small of her back as she pushed her along. Jun sighed and relented, giving up fighting against her hold. Ami was a lot stronger than her small frame suggested, Jun realized unhappily. Knowing they wouldn't help her any, the stream of grumbled complaints slowed to a trickle of sighing as they stepped into the bright shop from the night-stained outside. Jun found herself having to blink several times, trying to get the colored spots to disappear from her eyes.

"Sit here," Ami commanded, pushing Jun none-too-gently into a wooden chair in a two-seater by the window. Jun yelped some annoyed protests at being handled so roughly, but she did as she was told, drumming her fingers impatiently on the tabletop. She was actually contemplating walking home alone, though the prospect didn't really amuse her as much as make her stomach upset. She hated walking around the city alone, and it was worse during the night time. The buddy system her mother had encouraged as a kid had stuck with Jun through her teen years, and she was _not_ afraid to admit it. So many weird things could happen.

Especially to a beautiful, innocent girl like herself, she thought.

Luckily, Ami came back carrying two caramel lattes tipped with a small mountain of whipped cream sprinkled with small chunks of chocolate, so Jun didn't have to terrify herself with thoughts of "what if, maybes" for very long. Without speaking, Ami slid Jun's latte across the table to her, and began sipping her own. Jun grudgingly accepted. So what if it was her all-time favorite drink, even though half the time she couldn't afford it? She hadn't asked for it. In fact, she had specifically said she _didn't_ want coffee.

She took a careful sip. It was still deliciously hot.

"Are you done getting angry at nothing," Ami asked when Jun had worked her way through a third of the steamy drink. Jun bit her lower lip, then sighed quietly. Was this a peace offering, this amazing drink? Or was it a pacifier?

"It wasn't nothing," she mumbled, though she felt like a little kid denying it. The fact was, she'd been beginning to think along similar lines, and was not happy about it in the slightest.

"It was. He didn't lie to you," Ami argued, pointing at Jun with her latte-soaked spoon. A drop dripped from its edge to the table top, though ignored it. She dipped the spoon back into her mug and continued her previous stirring of the whipped cream into the creamy brown liquid. Jun made a face. What a waste of perfectly good whipped cream.

"He didn't say anything, either. I must have looked so _stupid_," Jun scowled, pushing her mug away a few inches, careful not to spill any of its contents. Ami looked down at her own drink, and didn't argue. Jun wasn't sure if she should be proud, or pissed.

"Did you recognize him," Ami asked after a few minutes' silence. Jun stared at her, and green eyes rose to stare back. They were very serious, Jun realized. Shit. She hated admitting she was wrong.

"What," she asked stupidly, and she could see Ami was struggling not to roll her eyes. She sighed loudly, abandoning her own drink (though she'd barely taken more than a couple sips as it was). A sigh, and Jun saw Ami close her eyes. Yea, that was definitely a poorly-disguised eye roll, Jun decided as she folded her arms stubbornly across her chest.

"Did. You. Recognize. Him," Ami repeated, slowly emphasizing each word carefully. Jun pouted. This wasn't fair. She was _her_ friend. Ami was supposed to be on _her_ side, not Takeru's!!

"...No...but in my defense," she jumped in quickly, for Ami should every sign of wanting to interrupt, "he wasn't wearing that stupid hat he usually does. And his outfit was different, and he wasn't with any of the people I associate him with." Like Yamato, she thought to herself. Or Daisuke, or Hikari. If _any_ of that gang had been present, she would have known right off the bat.

"Well. Maybe he thought you wouldn't remember him," Ami pointed out, trying to sound logical and reasonable. Jun wasn't in the mood for either, but she found herself listening despite herself. "Maybe he didn't recognize me, so he didn't make the connection till it was too late. Maybe he thought it was rude to, so late in the conversation, point out that he knew you. Or vice versa. So he kept quiet. Or maybe he assumed you_ did_ recognize him, and that was why you were talking to him in the first place." As Ami suggested that possibility, a small smirk formed on her lips that made Jun wanna shake her.

Why did she have to be so _right_ all the time, anyway?!

"Well..."

"Oh give it up," Ami ordered, though Jun realized she was chuckling. She had returned her attention to her latte, sipping it carefully even though the whipped cream _had_ to have chilled the hot drink by then. "Finish your drink. And then we'll walk home, okay?"

"No train?" Jun couldn't help but sound hopeful and pleased at the same time. She returned to her drink with gusto, taking a long drink despite the fact that it burned going down her throat.

"Nope," Ami confirmed, shaking her head once for emphasis. "I promised, didn't I?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** Hey there, my avid readers!! Okay, not _avid_, but you know what I mean... it's nice to have SOME readers, at any rate. So I just got back from my vacation last week, and I know I promised to update a WHILE ago, but a lot of stuff has gone down, you know? Birthday, drama... it's just been very hectic. And this story was actually making me feel worse (relationships are NOT happy thoughts for me this summer). But I've finally kicked my lazy arse in gear to finish this up. Four pages were done like... the 20th. So I wasn't slacking the ENTIRE time. Though... this sounds silly, but a lot of my motivation died when I stopped getting PMs or reviews here. If I'm taking too long to update, PM me. It gets my brain functioning again.

**Added note:** Anyways, thanks again **Yinyangwhitetiger** for your continuous support, even if we have different views on the characters of Digimon. I've been enjoying our PM's between updates.

* * *

Jun let out a loud, melodramatic sigh as she shut the apartment door behind her. It was almost quiet, except the sound of Daisuke playing video games in the dark. It was the main reason Jun hated weekends– Daisuke never seemed to _sleep_. It was like she had absolutely zip privacy from the second the school bell rang Friday till he finally had to go to bed Sunday night. Lucky for her, he didn't seem to care one way or another when she came and went so long as he had soccer on the TV, a video game for when the soccer game ended, and an endless supply of food or money for pizza nearby.

After all, he often reminded her, he wasn't the least bit interested in her infatuation with his friend. That infuriated Jun, though she was loathe to admit it. What right did the twerp have to be buddy-buddy with _her_ future husband?! The world was cruel, she thought bitterly as she ditched her purse on the dining table without a second glance. Cruel and unusual. It should be illegal.

"Kaa-san went to bed," Daisuke called to her, answering an unasked question and surprising her. He hadn't even taken his eyes off the screen! How could he know she was peering into the bathroom and kitchen curiously. "She expected you home a while ago, said you better have had dinner." His last few words were slurred by the fact that he had stuffed a half piece of jam-slathered toast into his mouth while the screen loaded the next level in his game.

"We decided to walk," Jun replied shortly, not desiring any form of conversation at the moment. Especially not with her dorky little brother. She'd rather return to the days of imaginary best friends and doll tea parties, frankly. Her walk home with Ami had been relatively silent after they had finished their drinks at the café, and she felt no desire to do anything now but sleep. And sleep. And...

"Aren't you a bit old to be scared of the subways," Daisuke asked, sounding curiously amused as he mashed the buttons on his game controller. He winced as Jun turned on the light overhead (who knew how long he'd been sitting in the dark like that, the Gremlin), but the vaguely entertained smirk never slipped from his lips. Not even when she threw a pillow from the couch at where he lay on the floor in front of the television.

"I'm not afraid," she hissed, more afraid of waking their mother up than she was pissed at him. "It's just suicidal to go on there at midnight. Do you know what kinda creeps hang out there," she demanded. But if she expected respectful silence, or an apology, she should have known that she'd be sorely disappointed by what really _did_ happen. Daisuke laughed, hitting the pause button and rolling on his side so he could see her clearly, hovering over him like an angry poltergeist.

"Nothing that would want you, Jun," he teased, smirking. When she leaned down to smack him upside the head, he merely stuck his tongue out and rolled back onto his stomach, attention returning to the frozen screen. "I think you're safe."

"Screw you, Daisuke," Jun scowled, kicking his leg as she started walking away. She heard him grumble something, probably a protest or complaint about the kick being an overreaction (as if she cared, seriously), but didn't turn around to respond. She didn't slow her pace till she was safely locked in her room, door clicked into place and bolt slid across the door that she'd installed when she'd entered high school and gotten sick of Daisuke barging in at impossible hours.

Only then did she allow herself to collapse on her bed. A half-hearted growl emitted from her throat, but it was muffled by her pile of pillows at the head of her bed. She had started the evening in such good spirits– a cute new outfit, a great concert (as always) just moments away, a night out with one of her best girl friends and away from the loser, trying to catch the sapphire blue eyes of...

Her eyes had closed, her thoughts lulling her to sleep as her annoyance with Daisuke ebbed away. But at the thought of oceanic blue orbs, it wasn't Yamato's face that flooded the darkness behind her still-made-up eye lids.

It was Takeru's.

Jun sat up so quickly she felt dizzy, with colored spots dancing before her eyes. She ignored it though, just staring at the wall opposite her. Even in the dark, she knew what was there. She couldn't count the number of afternoons she'd spent gazing at the posters of the Teenage Wolves, of Yamato and some candid shots from concerts. That was a face she knew better than her own brother's, one she saw in every dream be it night or day. She frowned. So why couldn't she picture it, when she tried closing her eyes again?

"I need sleep," she mumbled grumpily, throwing herself back against the pillow.

* * *

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaahhh." Jun yawned widely, eyes squeezed shut as she stretched her arms as far overhead as they would go. The sun was bright, streaming through her window in a narrow beam allowed by the only-partially closed curtains, and hitting particles of dust caught in the air. After a moment she allowed her arms to fall back to her side, letting her hands hit the mattress with a soft _thump_.

As the previous night came back to her– in short bursts, considering she was still half asleep– Jun became glad that she couldn't remember her dreams from that night. She'd been so drained when she'd finally fallen asleep, it seemed her mind hadn't wanted to do any more work than her body had at the time.

Another yawn and a nice stretch later, and Jun felt she was nice and awake enough to go make her presence known to the rest of the family. She grabbed her towels from the back of her desk chair and a change of clothes in the dresser, fully prepared to bet a nice shower would let her start her day with a clear mind.

Unfortunately, she never got that far into her perfect day.

"Jun? You up yet?" It was Daisuke's voice, followed by an obnoxiously loud knock that he repeated three times. For goodness sake, it wasn't like he was trying to be heard ten feet away! More like ten inches, she thought with a scowl, pulling the door open with the hand that wasn't balancing her towels and change of clothes.

"Duh," was her not-so-sweet reply as she pulled the door open. His hand was outstretched, which made her scowl despite his politely surprised expression. It couldn't be THAT late where he thought she was sleeping the day away like he usually did, right? "What do you want?"

"You can't take a shower right now," he said, looking at her towels draped over her arm. She didn't think that was in answer to her question now, because if he was suggesting he would have woken her up for that...

Well, she'd be an only child again, which would be a refreshing change of pace at the moment.

"And why not," she asked crossly, pushing her way past him. She might be able to wake up earlier than him, but that didn't mean she was in a decent socializing mood till a shower and some breakfast. And he was really pushing his limits.

"Becau–" Daisuke began, revolving on the spot to follow her movement as he spoke, but he didn't finish whatever he'd been about to. Frankly, he hadn't had to. Jun froze on the spot, staring face-to-face with Takeru Takaishi, who grinned shyly. No, not shyly, Jun realized as her eyes went from wide surprise to narrow speculation. Guilt. He knew she'd figured out he was the boy from the concert.

"Long time, no see," she said, unable to keep the note of sarcasm from her voice. His cheeks flushed (so faintly that Jun thought it could have been her imagination), but he didn't take a step back. Barely a foot was between them.

"Heh. Nice to see you again, Jun." The sheepish grin widened a little more, his right hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thanks for sneaking us in last night." Her voice was cool, but she was still grateful (even if she hated to admit it to him). She wouldn't have wanted to miss Yamato's last concert in Odaiba because she hadn't been able to decide what to wear. She was glad that her _tone_, atleast, had the desired effect. He blinked, looking slightly taken aback. Maybe he hadn't realized she'd figured it out after all, she thought, insulted.

"Hehh... sorry I had to bail," he apologized, and this time Jun was certain that was a blush forming on the apples of his cheeks. She was very aware of Daisuke trying desperately to follow the conversation, and failing horribly. His expression flickered from impatience to confusion in the corner of Jun's eye.

"Doesn't matter," Jun shrugged. She was satisfied with the air of indifference she was so successful at maintaining. If only she were able to keep it up with all the other guys she'd lusted after... maybe they wouldn't have gotten cold feet. But those were _older_ boys, and she was still a little annoyed with Takeru for not telling her who he was. "We had a good time, just like we knew we would." She smiled a little, the same conspiratorial smirk she gave Daisuke every time she was playing games with his mind. She wondered if Takeru realized it. If he did, he played innocent.

"Well, that's good. I'm sure Nii-san will be happy to hear that," he said cheerfully, tactfully ignoring Daisuke's sudden coughing fit. Jun scowled, suspecting she knew exactly what had been the cause.

"Got a problem, Little Bro," she demanded, rounding on him with her fists planted on her narrow hips. Suddenly, the coughing was gone and the gogglehead grinned up at her like a troublesome two year old. She growled in her head. Not "like". He WAS a troublesome two year old.

"Nah. Just something in my throat. I think your perfume's too strong," he said cheerfully, though his smile faltered as he looked at her nightgown and just-woke-up hair and realized that that just wouldn't fly this round. Jun was thinking along the same things, throwing her town angrily at his face, which he let hit him with good grace even though she knew he could have easily dodged it.

"Asshole! I'm not _wearing_ perfume," she hissed, glaring at him with daggers in her eyes. Oh, if only looks could kill, she thought with murderous longing. Of course, Takeru realized that it was his time to intervene, or rather, drag the idiot Daisuke away before he got himself really hurt. Or killed. Maybe both, Jun thought, amused by the imagery that produced. If she wouldn't be grounded for all eternity...

Well, the idea would've been promising on quite a few occasions over the years.

"Er, c'mon Dai," Takeru said, grinning apologetically at Jun even though she dimly registered that he hadn't done anything this time around. Ah, whatever. Let the kid squirm, the older sister in her said. He deserved it, for a few days. She watched, her expression totally void of any emotion, as the blond grabbed Daisuke's arm and half-dragged him out to the living room. She could hear him from where she stood, frozen, in the hallway.

"So what was _that_ about," demanded Daisuke, causing Jun to roll her eyes. Busy body prat.

"What? Oh... We talked for a bit before the concert last night," she heard Takeru say offhandedly. Her mind's eye could just picture him shrugging, and Daisuke's suspicious stare.

"What about?"

"Sneaking in." Takeru laughed, and suddenly Jun's face grew red. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath. She released it now, slowly as though it would hurt her to just blow it out in one huff. She had to admit, she'd come to terms with thinking about how blue his eyes were, just like Yamato's. But she hadn't been prepared for the butterflies going wild in her stomach when she heard him laugh.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Yoyoyooooo. Yea, I know. I'll never do that again. But I say that every time I do, so maybe I'll just pretend it never happened... that's the ticket! Anyways! Yes, another update. Yay! About time, right? I'm trying to spit out the ideas before they disappear again, which means whoot! Chapter four, folks! I don't like how it came out, my muse would randomly appear and die again. But that's besides the point. Y'all know the drill by now. Read, review, and PM my lazy arse to keep it moving!!

* * *

"So what you're tellin' me," Ami said slowly, sipping the chai latte with soy milk she had bought on the way over, "is that you have a new crush."

"You don't have to make it sound so... mundane," Jun scowled, leaning the wooden kitchen table chair back on two legs with her arms holding the edge of the table for support. Takeru had dragged Daisuke away from his video games for a few rounds of basketball, giving Jun plenty of time to bathe, dress, and call Ami over for what she had described as an 'Emergency Meeting'. Ami, apparently, had assumed from the very beginning that it was nothing of the sort.

"On Yamato-kun's little brother," she continued, pretending as though Jun had never spoken. Of course, that made Jun only scowl more. She felt as though the expression would become permanently fixed to her face, which just wasn't an attractive thought no matter how she stretched her vivid imagination.

"His name is Takeru," Jun reminded her, for probably the millionth time. Yea, sometime between the door slamming shut behind Daisuke and the end of her warm, vanilla-scented bubble bath, she'd come to terms with reality. So what if he was Daisuke's friend, or Yamato's little brother? Daisuke had crushed on a couple of his friends before– before he started hanging around Hikari more, anyway, so did it really matter? Part of her still said yes, the part of her that felt uneasy dating someone nearly five years her junior. But that part wasn't even so bad. Ami never missed a chance to point out how immature she was. So maybe it would be good to date someone younger.

"One of Daisuke's best friends," Ami pressed. Jun rolled her eyes, but didn't bother interrupt again. Best friends. Tcht. They fought all the time! But then again, so did her and Ami, so that argument wouldn't go ignored by the raven-haired girl, still sipping at her chai latte like they were summarizing the end of a business meeting. "And you don't see what's _wrong_ with this?"

Jun smoothed her scowl out, settling for glaring at Ami with her hazel eyes as she let the chair clunk back into place beneath her. Normally she would have winced at the sound, convinced her mother would have a fit if she found out. But right then, she didn't really care. It beat hitting her hand against the table, didn't it?

"No, not really," Jun replied stubbornly. She folded her arms over her chest, her head cocked just slightly to the right as if inviting Ami to explain herself. Ami just sighed, running a hand through her hair. Jun knew her 'boy-crazy' tendencies drew on Ami's last nerve sometimes. She was the sort of girl who boys flocked after, but just wasn't interested. And then there was Jun, who was the girl flocking after the boys. Yes, plural. But this time, she was serious. "Didn't you see him on the train?"

"That wasn't flirting, Jun," Ami said tiredly, setting her latte down. She had the air of someone who was getting exhausted from explaining that two plus two equals four to a three year old every day. "That was being nice. A gentleman. _Human_."

"I know it wasn't flirting," Jun exclaimed, scowling. Sometimes Ami's detached interest in everything she said drove the more eccentric girl insane. It was one of those moments where Jun had to wonder _why_ they were friends, anyway. They were so different! It seemed the only thing they really did have in common was their obsessive love of The Teenage Wolves, and its lead singer in particular. "I'm just saying," she went on after taking a deep breath to try calm herself down, "that...it wasn't how he usually is, either."

"Your brother makes the nicest people act like jerks, Jun. Think about what you're gonna say next," Ami reminded her, drumming her fingers silently on the table top. Jun, this time, decided to ignore her and proceed like Ami had never spoken.

"He's usually like the dopey little brother. To everyone," she said blandly when Ami showed every sign of wanting to interrupt again. Jun lowered her voice, biting her lip thoughtfully before saying, "when I first met him, that's how he introduced himself– as Yamato's little brother. Daisuke's friend. But... on the train, and this morning, he..."

"Jun. Let's be rational, just for fun," Ami cut across her while Jun struggled to find the words to convey what her mind was _seeing_. Jun looked up at her, frowning. Ami had one eyebrow raised, lost in the dark hair that fell over her face. Jun had a feeling that her definition of fun and Ami's didn't quite match up at the moment. "You've known this boy for, like, a couple years. Right?"

"Yea, but–"

"Never shown any interest in him. Nor he you."

"Not quite, when I first met him I made him sign my shirt," Jun cut in. Ami rolled her eyes and sighed. It was pretty obviously clear that that was _not_ what she had meant by 'interest', though in Jun's book, that sorta qualified. But then, she thought _all_ guys were cute...

"In fact, you've often taken to teasing him almost as much as Daisuke."

"Kinda. I didn't wanna make Yamato mad."

"Like flirting with his brother would," Ami challenged, and Jun's mouth snapped shut. Her defense fell away from her just like that. It was like someone had just turned on a fluorescent light in her head, blinding her. How could she have _not_ thought about that?

"I..."

"Or your parents, or his! When they hear the age difference..." Ami didn't have to finish the sentence. Jun was glaring at her. Crestfallen as she was, she didn't want to hear anymore about the odds stacked up against her. Yes, life sucked when your heart _would not listen to reason_. Was that her fault?! It was like, genetic for her to not listen to reason! Why did she have to start now?

"There's more than five years between _my_ parents," Jun pointed out stubbornly, glaring. "They're hardly ones to talk."

"Jun," Ami sighed, but Jun wouldn't let her finish. She had Daisuke's temper, even if she would never, ever, _ever_ be willing to admit it. Once she decided something, she wouldn't let anyone change her mind. Didn't matter who was right, or who was wrong. All that mattered was that, at this moment, Ami was doing exactly what Jun _didn't_ want her to do, and she was pissed. "Where're you going, Jun?"

"Out. For a walk. Maybe some coffee," Jun said shortly. It was pretty obvious she was ticked, she was trying as hard as she could just to control the volume of her voice. In her hurry to leave the conversation behind her, she seemed to have forgotten about her own coffee, sitting half-drunk on the table. Ami opened her mouth to remind her of it, seemed to think better of it, and sighed with a shake of her head.

"There's no getting through to you once you think of something," she mused out loud, standing up as well and grabbing her jacket, "is there?" Jun froze, eyeing Ami warily with one arm still out of her own jacket.

"I didn't invite you," she said coolly, finishing stuffing her arm in the hole. Ami rolled her eyes.

"I know. I was showing myself to the door." She didn't glance at Jun again as she gathered her things and discarded their mugs in the sink, seemingly oblivious to the glares she was receiving. She didn't even look back at her best friend as she walked to the door, raising one arm in a farewell gesture before saying, "You're gonna remember what I said eventually, whether you like it or not." And before Jun could utter an angry reply, the door had been snapped shut behind her, leaving Jun standing there with her cheeks puffed and red with fury.

* * *

Jun liked her coffee shops. She had six faves scattered throughout Tokyo, and made a habit of visiting each one whenever she was in the area. There was one near her school, one near the university she hoped to attend, another near the music store she frequently visited, and another near where Yamato's band rehearsed between concerts. Another was located just around the corner from her apartment, which was very convenient when she wanted to get away from her family without actually thinking about a particular destination.

The only bad thing about this coffee shop was that it was directly across from the lot where Daisuke and his friends liked to shoot hoops. Normally, she managed to avoid this favorite haunt when she knew Daisuke was there, but today she couldn't think of anywhere else to go. And on top of that, the place was fairly busy today (being around noon, and all), meaning that it was almost impossible for her to really get a choice in where she sat. As fate would have it, the spikey-haired teen was forced to sit by the window, in plain sight of Takeru or Daisuke happened to glance across the street. She muttered something angrily under her breath as she sat down with her Chai latte (complete with soy milk, much healthier), though her grumbling was incoherent. She had _thinking_ to do, damn it! Having those two right across the street from her was _not_ helping her concentration.

Especially considering she could hear their jeering, cheering, and laughing over the general babble of the coffee shop. It seemed her ears were especially in tune to Takeru's teasing. She found herself smirking despite herself as she heard Takeru yell "C'mon, Motimiya, do you really expect to place over me in the basketball team with _that_ shot? Get real!" But when she caught what she was doing, she forced the corners of her mouth into a frown. Jun, you idiot, this was exactly the thing we had to _think_ about!

Because Ami had a point, Jun was loathe to admit as she slumped in her seat. She loved the seats here. They were all cushiony and plushy, like the recliner chair she favored at home. Jun stirred her latte even though it was already stirred to perfection, lost in her own thoughts that seemed to churn with the swirling pattern of the coffee and foam. Yamato really _would_ be furious if she happened to make a move on his baby bro, wouldn't he? Of course he would. She'd be furious if one of her girl friends made a pass at Daisuke, though that was different...she thought. She'd hit anyone who thought Daisuke was cute and worth dating with her purse for their bad taste.

But...it wasn't as though Yamato had made any claim to her, either, she mused, pulling a small little flip-note pad from her purse and clicking a pen so the inked point was hovering over the white lined surface. A pros and cons list. Or doodles. Anything that might help her think straight. Because in the end, after she'd gone through all the circles and leaped through the hoops of fire, she knew Ami still had a point. If Yamato wasn't angry with her, Daisuke would be... And if Daisuke didn't want them to date, he'd convince Takeru he'd made a mistake. And even then, what if Takeru hadn't been flirting with her? What if she'd just been caught up in those sapphire blue eyes that were so like Yamato's... But where Yamato's were dark, friendly but guarded, Takeru's were bright, light and welcoming. They were..._hopeful_, Jun thought as she jotted 'eyes' under the 'PROS' column she'd written down. Yamato's were challenging, demanding. She'd always sort of managed to avoid looking _directly_ in his eyes when she talked to him. They scared her a little.

Another PRO for Takeru. She felt no fear looking in his eyes. Only excitement, curiosity, and a thrill of adrenaline coursing through her veins like hot fire. Jun glanced out the window, hoping to catch a flicker of the game across the street. Their shouting had quieted, and with a jolt the older girl wondered if maybe they'd called it quits and gone back to the apartment already. She couldn't go home to them yet. She still hadn't made a decision...

She froze as she realized that they hadn't gone back to the apartment yet. They were just standing there, two friends chatting it up. When Hikari wasn't around, Daisuke and Takeru seemed tight... almost tighter than Yamato and Taichi, whom Jun knew that Daisuke idolized. _Good luck adding up to his good looks, amazing soccer skills, and charm, Baby Brother_, she thought with a small chuckle. Okay, an evil thought maybe that shouldn't have been given a moment's notice, but she _was_ a big sister. Teasing was what big sisters did, it was like... a rule.

Jun couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from across the street in time, even though she realized that Takeru was looking back. Even from this distance, she could tell that he was grinning that childish grin...that adorable...He shook Daisuke's shoulder, the other hand pointing in her direction. Her eyes widened a little as Daisuke shrugged and turned away, but Takeru didn't. Still grinning broadly, the hand he'd been pointing with raised high over his stupid white bucket hat as he waved. Jun blinked, unsure if she should wave back. Her hand not holding her pen raised stiffly in a small wave, which he seemed content with. He did a little... jump-thing as he hurried to catch up with her dork of a little brother who was shooting by himself at one of the baskets. Lay-ups, she remembered, had never been his strong suit.

Jun shook her head quickly as she forced her eyes to focus on the little notepad on the table again. But she couldn't quite see it. After five minutes of just _staring_ at it, she growled and tossed the pad and pen back in her purse and snatching her mug. Screw pros and cons, she thought fiercely as she took a long sip. She ignored the scalding feeling as the hot liquid burned its way down her throat. She'd made her decision. She didn't have much of a choice in the matter, and everyone knew she was horrible at surrendering a crush before even trying. It was one of her few faults. The only question was: How was she going to do it?


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:** Miss me? No sillies, I didn't forget about this, or any of my other, projects. Life just got like, madly insane on me. I feel like I've failed miserably. BUT! The good news? Recently, bits and pieces of my original train of thought (the ones recovered from its crash as it came into the station) have slowly been returned to me, meaning my muse is playing well enough for me to get this chapter cranked out! I'll be working on updating my other stuff too, but in the meanwhile, enjoy my slow return from an unannounced hiatus!

OH! And as I've had this penname since I joined FF, which was well over two years now, I've decided it's time for a change. I'm not quite as into the whole Japanese theme anymore, though I still love it, and have decided it may be time for something that's more... like me, you know? Aki Midoshi is a penname I created in sixth grade on a whim. And I'm in eleventh. So um...I think it's time for a change. Just wanted to let you know, chapter six will be released under a different penname! I don't remember how this affects alerts and stuff, so yea. ITS STILL ME!

* * *

By the time she had to get ready for school the following Monday, Jun had a plan. Or, you know, something that resembled one. I guess you could call it a vague scheme, because it _did_ involve sneaking into Daisuke's room at four AM when she was sure he was fast asleep and turning off his alarm clock. And it did involve locking his door on the way out, so their mother couldn't just barge into the room scolding him for not being responsible. It was a _vague_ scheme because she had no idea how much good that would do, or if Daisuke's internal clock was capable of waking him up. She shouldn't have worried about _that_ problem though. When given the chance, her baby brother could sleep well into the afternoon. Normally, that drove her insane, but today that might be able to be worked to her advantage.

If, you know, she was right that Daisuke and Takeru walked to school together. In all the years those two had palled around, Jun had never once felt intrigued enough to pay attention. Unless Daisuke happened to say something about a record store, or Yamato. Then, you know, things changed. Because that involved sprinting to the record store in record time (Aha, she made herself laugh sometimes) wearing stilettos that often lost a heel on the run just to get the new release before anyone else. Or you know, finding some convenient way to explain how her baby brother was suddenly her BFF when he was paling around with Yamato for the day.

But never, ever, _ever_ did she think she'd need to keep tabs on Takeru.

She had a story all worked out, too. And the diner she was serving at on days when she didn't have University classes was only two blocks from the high school. It was so convenient! And really, all she had to do was plant some story. _Oh, Daisuke's not feeling too great today...I think he was up all night playing video games and stuffing his face again. But I'm just on my way to work. _And as they were headed the same direction, they could walk together... It was perfect. She smirked at her reflection in the mirror as she fastened a garnet-look-alike necklace around her throat. It dangled just between... And it gleamed against the black cotton fabric of her uniform. Excellent. How could people accuse her of being a ditz? She felt rather smug as she ran her hand through her hair once so it wouldn't look too plastered and grabbed a piece of toast from the table. She'd like to see Ami try come up with a better plan.

Or better yet, she'd rather not. She liked her plan just fine, thank you very much. Didn't need Ami coming along and being all... smart, and such. Though she had to admit, Ami didn't have much more experience in the realm of boys than she did. She didn't know why Ami was so convinced she was in the right. But whatever. Jun grinned smugly at the sound of a knock on the door. The moment of truth had arrived. She downed the last bite of toast and shrugged on the same jacket she'd donned at Yamato's concert, and slid her purse over her shoulder. She'd find out whether or not all her scheming could be put into practice or not as soon as she opened the door. But she was quite confident that it wasn't wasted. Now if that confidence bubble got popped... well, Jun wouldn't be happy. No, not in the slightest.

Her eyes practically lit up as she opened the door to reveal who was calling. Haha!! So she was right! You have no idea how much effort it took for her to keep her expression fairly indifferent, neutral...but friendly! That was the most important. She was so used to regarded Daisuke's little friends with little more than a passing glance (if they said or did something disgusting for her to roll her eyes about) that she almost gave Takeru the same sort of once over that she always had. It was instinctive, totally reflexive! It took a second of arguing with those old instincts before a smile could settle comfortably on her face.

"Morning," she said cheerfully. And although Takeru looked slightly taken aback from her unusually civil greeting for seven thirty in the morning, he nodded and smiled back.

"Good morning," he said, and it was obvious from his tone and eyes that he was trying hard to keep the conversation in that direction. He was being very cautious, toeing the line in case suddenly the old Jun came out to snap at him for leaning against the door frame (She hated when people did that, absolutely hated it.). It almost made her laugh, but she pretended not to notice as she fidgeted with her purse and jacket. "Er, is Daisu–"

"He's still asleep." She frowned a little– the actress had mastered her art a long time ago– and shrugged. "He was up kinda late playing those stupid video games. Probably stuffed himself silly–er, anyway– with popcorn." She shrugged again and fiddled with the buttons of her jacket, making sure they were all straight and proper while Takeru tried think of a response. After all, she thought she'd feel kinda silly showing up at her friend's house if they weren't going and hadn't told her. She politely averted her gaze while he frowned and tried to reply without sounding kinda silly.

But that was kinda hard for boys, you know? So of course, he sounded silly anyway.

"I...Oh. Huh, yea that sounds like Dai." He laughed, though his laughter was kind of dry. Well, if it were her, she would've been rather annoyed to go out of her way for nothing. So that was understandable too. But it would also take some careful footwork from this point on. The clock ticking on the wall over the fridge only seemed to serve as a reminder to her that she should probably get Takeru out and away from the apartment as soon as possible, incase Daisuke's inner clock betrayed her. She doubted Takeru would be too happy to find out she had schemed her way into interrupting their daily routine. He was such a _good_ boy. She almost wondered if this would be any fun. But it only made the scheming that much harder, and therefor that much more intriguing. As long as she didn't get caught, anyway. She really didn't want to get caught. As much as the flirting felt like a game, she was serious about this pursuit. She didn't want to screw it up before she even got started.

_Roll the die, sweet heart. It's your turn._ She grinned.

"Well, I gotta run. You should probably get to school, right?" He blinked twice, looking totally lost as she pushed her way past him. Not too roughly, but not too politely either. Couldn't do a total U-turn in her personality, could she? That would be fishy. Besides, it was a chance to brush up against him. That was hardly something to go out of her way to avoid. _Oh geez, pervert!_ She scolded herself mentally, wishing she could kick herself. But um, that wouldn't exactly go unnoticed either, would it? No no, self-ass-kicking could wait till later. Like, after work. Or something.

"Uh. Right." School. Snk. She almost wished she were going with him. Then she could do what she used to do to Yamato or Taichi... a wink between classes here, a saved seat at lunch there. Some guys didn't mind it, even though somewhere along the line Yamato thought of her less as a friend and more of a—She stopped that train before it could leave the station. Oh no. She wasn't going back to that. It was done. She refused to think of it again.

She was careful to not slow or quicken her pace too much, making sure she remained a few feet ahead of him all the way to the elevator. She knew the path he and Daisuke took to school, because she herself had walked Daisuke to the high school for the first time. Of course, she'd whined and complained and tried to get out of it, and then they harassed each other the entire way there, but still. She'd walked the exact same way for three years. She knew the way, alright? There was plenty of time to smile and make nice with Takeru. It just had to seem, you know, coincidental...

She was determined to make this possible blossom of a new relationship as natural as possible. After all, up and in your face really hadn't worked out _that_ terrifically for her in the past. She wanted to be careful not to slip up, or come on too strongly. She had always sort of agreed with Daisuke (not that she'd admit it) that Takeru and Hikari, a girl whom she never understood the reasons for her hanging out with Daisuke of all people, always did seem to have a "chemistry", so to speak. He liked subtler, more discreet girls. Well, Jun could do that. Really! She just, you know, hadn't had a lot of practice.

She didn't let them be side-by-side until they were inside the elevator. She didn't hold the door for him, as though she'd forgotten he was behind her or something. She was almost amused that the elevator was rather crowded with other morning commuters and some other school-age kids from the building. She didn't recognize too many of them as more than that: she only really recognized the soccer kids who were always running in and out of the apartment, and those Digi-whatsits. She'd never entirely understood that when Daisuke tried to explain how he knew Yamato and them, not that she'd tried very hard to follow along. It had just gone way over her head then, but when her eyes flickered down and caught sight of that weird beeper-like thing on Takeru's belt loop just like Daisuke's, she wished she'd paid a little more attention.

And this time, coincidence really did play a part in the turn her plans was taking. She didn't think she'd be literally thrown into close proximity with him, but the crowd jostled them in such a way that they were both nearly pressed side-to-side against the wall farthest from the buttons. He grinned apologetically to her, but they didn't exchange words. Would've been kinda hard anyway, with all the people mashed together. So Jun didn't think much on it, just tapped her foot with subconscious impatience as she waited for the elevator to reach the ground level.

Silence. Except for the elevator, as one by one, the floors ticked off with a quietly irritating _ding!_ Jun fidgeted with her purse strap again, trying to act, you know, _normal_. She wasn't good at it. Every fiber of her being longed to throw herself at the feet of any boy whom she deemed worthy. It took a _lot_ of self control– more than she thought she had, which was something– to keep from openly fawning over him. But in a strange way, she didn't exactly want to _fawn_ over him. He wasn't like Yamato the rock star, or Taichi the king of athletics. He didn't seem to be _the best_ in whatever field he was in, but rather dabbled in several. It fascinated her. She'd always spent all her time focusing on single strengths.

Maybe she'd been missing something.

She almost didn't realize when the elevator reached the main level. She realized that she wasn't pressed against Takeru first, as he edged towards the opening doors. And then she was pushed through the doors by the agitated crowd as they rushed in their hurry to get to classes they didn't want to take or jobs they didn't like. It wasn't hard to catch up with him again, once they were on the side walk. She kept him in the corner of her vision, though she tried not make it too obvious.

She was getting better at this, she thought.

For five minutes, they walked in silence. At first, she didn't think he noticed that she was there. But then he turned his head to watch her, blinking twice, before shrugging and walking on again. But she caught him looking at her again, fleetingly. Words, however, didn't enter the exchange until his third glance, which she found herself accidentally mirroring. Fortunately, he didn't seem to realize she'd been sneaking peeks too.

"Um..." She didn't respond, almost as though she didn't think he was talking to her. But that effect was slightly marred by the fact that she was now staring at him with her eyebrows raised slightly, anticipating the next words out of his mouth. No, his voice wasn't as majestic as Yamato's. But there was an innocence to it that was sweet...Not like her brother's naivety, but still innocent. Hopeful. Was that the right word? No...She didn't see what he could be hopeful for at the moment. "Well, uh, I was wondering–" He let his voice trail off, scratching his cheek, and Jun resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That was a big sister thing she really had to correct when Daisuke wasn't around. Add that to her to-do list, if you will.

"Yea?" Yes Jun, she said to herself impatiently, woo him with your unsurmountable patience and smooth words. That's the way to make him fall into your lap. She resisted the urge to kick herself again. So much resisting... she was gonna have to rain hell down upon those at work just to work off the pent up frustration and stuff. Honestly!

"I mean." He faltered. Though maybe that was just because they were momentarily separated by a swarm of pedestrians. Ugh! She hated Tokyo in the morning, you know? It was so impossible to get around without some grubby person or another knocking into you. _Rude, impatient, insufferable– Oh!_ He was talking again. As the stragglers from the group cleared out again, he grinned sheepishly. Had he actually finished his sentence while those idiots were there? She'd _hurt_ them, she thought savagely with a glare towards the group's backs. "I was just, you know, wondering if you wanted to walk together."

"What?" She blinked twice. Okay, she'd sort of been planning on that anyway, but the request sounded strange all the same. They _were_ walking together, whether he acknowledged that or not. They were walking at the same pace in the same direction. She had this horrible feeling she was missing some key point in his words.

"Well, you know," he said. He was grinning a little now, that small half-smile that would've looked like a smirk on any other boy's lips. Like when he grinned at her from the court across from the coffee house. It was the only thing about him that _really_ made him his own person to her. Yamato had the same eyes and hair, sure. But he also had this smirk hidden in his smile that seemed almost sarcastic, like he was laughing at the world. Takeru's shadowed that, but it wasn't a mocking laugh. It was a 'life is amazing; what's there to hate' laugh of a child's. A child... Ami's words echoed in her head, and she waved them away. They weren't welcome to her anymore.

She raised her eyebrow higher, prompting him to explain further. He sighed, but the half-smile never disappeared or faded. If anything, it seemed even brighter in the morning sunshine. "I mean," he went on, "I thought we could walk... You know, not on opposite sides of the side walk. He grinned as she blinked and looked down, as though she hadn't realized the distance between them despite the fact that entire groups of people had passed between them. Oh. Snap. She really _hadn't_ noticed, and felt her cheeks grow a little hot with embarrassment. "We wouldn't have to like, talk and stuff," he hurried to add.

Was he under the impression he had to bargain with her? That made her frown a little bit– or rather, the corners of her mouth twitched downwards. Watching him talk nervously was in a borderline-sadistic way amusing. His words ran together, and color tinted his cheeks in the morning sunlight. It was endearing. And especially amusing that he thought she didn't want to talk to him, after all the scheming and thinking it had taken for her to get this moment. Not that he was allowed to know that, of course.

"I guess so," she shrugged, doing her best not to giggle as she joined him on his side of the walk. Of course, they were going against the flow of traffic, but that only made her grin to herself as people grumbled and walked around them like they were surrounded by their own personal bubble.

"I mean," he went on, babbling now. Jun had to bite her lip to keep from snickering. "It's always nice to walk with someone. Like, beside them. Silence is good once in a while, y'know?"

"I wouldn't know." And she allowed herself to grin now at his confused expression. "You haven't stopped talking." She giggled at his face– totally incredulous, fading into embarrassment as her words sunk in deeper.

"Sorry," he murmured, half-shrugging in an apologetic way. And Jun just shook her head, still giggling a little. She was sure that wasn't helping matters any, but she couldn't help it.

"Don't be. I'll tell you when you're getting as annoying as my baby brother." She winked, and he chuckled, however dryly. She knew Takeru and Daisuke had their moments, if only because Daisuke had ranted about him hanging out with Hikari so much. And she figured it was kinda hard to not know Daisuke, and also not know that he was a right pain in the —

"Haha. Thanks." Though his words were a little sarcastic, his smile in his eyes seemed sincere enough. Had she never noticed how cold Yamato's eyes were in comparison? It made her shiver now, looking back on it. How had she ever wished she could just stare into those hard, untrusting eyes? Well, she supposed that answer was easy. She was hypnotized by the magic in his voice, and beautiful words he had written with not her, but a redheaded female in mind. "Are you going next weekend?" She blinked, confused, until she realized he meant Yamato's concert. She shook her head, effectively snapping herself out of her reverie as well. Talk about two birds with one stone.

"Nah. I have work right up till curtain call," she said with a sigh, though it wasn't quite the regretful longing she had felt only a few days before at the thought. It was more like a pang– the sort one felt when holiday plans changed, and when traditions were cancelled. It made her feel a little lonely. It seemed a room decoration change was in order, but what of? Looked like she just found what she could lose herself in while business was slow after the lunch crowd left. "And it's too far for me to get there. If it were in Odaiba..." She shrugged, as though the might-have-been in that scenario was obvious. And perhaps it was, for Takeru nodded understandingly. His expression was sympathetic.

_What would you look like if I told you it didn't bother me?_ He wouldn't believe her, she thought. Like Ami, he'd think that she was just saying that to hide the fact that she was furious that years and years of tradition would be broken by a single out-of-town concert. She even suspected herself of the same motive, and was surprised when she second-guessed herself and got the same answer: It didn't really matter, did it? No. Not in the slightest. Not when she had a new game to play. One that might be more fun, more rewarding... More successful, even, than the last.

"You know," he said thoughtfully after they walked again in a lapse of silence, "I don't remember you ever walking this way before. Have you?"

She nodded and shrugged when he raised his eyebrows questioningly. "I'm not walking my baby brother to school," she said, wriggling her nose in disgust. She almost added "and his friend", but managed to catch herself at the last second. She didn't think that would help her any if she made him think he was just Daisuke's friend to her. The past several years had probably done a good enough job at throwing that point home, y'know? No need to add insult to injury, so to speak. "Besides, I usually leave a couple minutes later. I like to eat breakfast at home."

"Why'd you leave earlier today?"

"I–" She paused. _Careful Jun!_ The little voice in the back of her mind was shouting at her to proceed with caution. Just in case Daisuke upped and blabbed, she had to make sure nothing she said was a lie. Lying had never proved to help in any boy chase before, and she thought that might be especially the case with Takeru– more so, considering he could go directly to her brother for confirmation of anything. A giant blinking neon purple _PROCEED WITH CAUTION _sign seemed to be going off in her head, and she had to keep herself from shaking her head and making herself look more insane than she probably already did. You know, threw past experiences. "I kinda fancied some pancakes from the diner." She shrugged it off as though it were nothing, which it sort of wasn't, and Takeru nodded. He seemed to accept that answer. Back in the clear...for now, anyway.

She'd like to keep it that way.

"That's your stop," she said, and he jumped a little as she raised her arm to point at the high school building. He looked dazed, like he'd been off in a world of his own for a couple minutes. They slowed to a stop, standing in front of the brick building. It felt sort of dramatic, like some anti-climactic goodbye scene in a movie. It made her fidgety.

"Oh. Wow." He blinked, and she grinned a little. Where had his thoughts taken him in that minute's silence? She wondered. Another pause, and he stretched before grinning at her. "Thanks for the walk. Tell Daisuke he's a lazy idiot who needs to learn to go to bed on time." She laughed openly at that. He said it with such a cheerful grin and upbeat tone, it was hard to find any bit of that not hilarious.

"Will do," she assured him, sliding her hands into her jacket pockets. Another pause.

"Y'know," he said thoughtfully, and she bizarrely found herself wondering how frequently he used that phrase in a day, "you're not that bad."

Well, _that_ wasn't what she'd been expecting. She blinked. "Um, thank you?" She wasn't sure if she should be flattered, amused, or feel a little bit insulted. She chose a subtle combination of the three, leaning towards the flattered part. It was the one that seemed the least offensive at the moment, and it made her feel better about herself at any rate.

"I mean..." he laughed and ran a hand through his hair. She was glad he'd ditched that hat he always wore when she first met him. It had looked so stupid. "You know, Daisuke always makes you sound like–"

"The queen bitch," she supplied with a knowing grin as he stumbled for the least offensive term. He laughed and shrugged. "I know. I don't exactly shine the light on his name, either."

"No. I know." He paused, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I just mean, you know... this was nice. We should do this more."

"Ditch my brother and walk to work and school together," she asked, blinking while suppressing a grin. She wouldn't admit she liked that idea. Not yet, anyway.

"Yea. Well, not ditching Daisuke." He chuckled at that and let his hand fall back to his side. "I just meant, you know, hanging out sometime? We could be, I don't know, friends." He shrugged at the suggestion, like it wasn't a big deal. But she could see he was serious. And that thrilled her.

"Sure. Why not, right?" She mimicked his shrug, and he grinned.

"Great. So, I'll see you later? Daisuke invited Hikari and I over... I mean, I'm pretty sure he'll wanna see Hikari whether or not he's worshiping the porcelain goddess." He made a face, and she grinned. She didn't doubt that. Daisuke was almost as stubborn as her, she'd admit to that. No matter what the odds were, the boy was too thick-headed to concede defeat. But maybe that would work to her advantage, if Hikari coming to visit would mean Takeru would be paying a visit as well.

She nodded and winked as she started walking again, making him pause to stare after her as he tried discern what that wink meant. For she could see it in his eyes, the clouded confusion. He only knew her around boys she flirted heavily with. He'd never seen her on the sly. So was she being friendly, or...? She could practically hear the questions turning the gears with a whir as she laughed to herself.

"You'll most definitely be seeing me later," she said, though she wasn't sure if he heard her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:** I'm gonna buy an animated boot to kick my ass when I get lazy. Anyways, here's the sixth chapter... someone give me some ideas of what they'd like to see happen. I'm not promising anyways, but that'll help me give this story some direction. At the moment, it feels pretty deadpan. So. What would you like to see Jun do? Uh... PG-13, naturally. Anyways, think of that AFTER you read. Enjoy!

* * *

The work day seemed to drag on three times as slowly as it normally did, and by the time that Jun's shift ended, she had already pulled off her apron and all but sprinted towards the door. Screw remaining calm. She wouldn't run into Takeru again until she was home, in her own apartment, back in her own element (with a fresh coat of lipstick and eye shadow), so who cared about patience? She certainly did it, and she took advantage of the freedom to snap at annoying co-workers, and then practically run the rest of the way home. She decided to ignore the fact that she was getting all excited for a party with a bunch of kids five years younger than her. Takeru would be there, Daisuke would be distracted by Hikari, and that was all that really mattered, right?

Cept she'd forgotten, you know, Daisuke _did_ have other friends. The other Chosen... whatevers. Miyako, Iori, and that Ken kid, the boy genius. Jun sighed as she ran a hand through her hair in her room before tackling her wardrobe, ignoring Daisuke on the other side of the door. Or trying to, anyways. He was really, really loud when he wanted attention. Unfortunately, he had learned that from the best: her.

"So, any idea why my alarm clock wasn't on this morning," he asked loudly from the other side of the door while Jun contemplated a canary yellow dress. She wrinkled her nose at it and tossed it onto the steadily growing pile on top of her bed covers. Sighing loudly, she placed her hands on her hips. She was running out of options with every article of clothing that got discarded on the bed. This was proving to be extremely problematic. She wished one of the brats hadn't already showed up: Ken, the soccer should-be professional, who for some reason had chosen Daisuke of all idiots for a best friend, which made her question the "genius" part of his reputation. She'd ask Ami to come over with a few outfits for her to choose from. Even if Ami didn't approve of Jun's dating habits, she was at least a good enough friend to share her wardrobe.

"No idea," Jun replied with a loud sniff, picking up an oversized, navy blue T-dress. She cocked her head at an angle. It had potential, she supposed, if she could find a cute belt and some jewelry. The pile on her bed was abandoned as she shimmied out of her work dress and slipped on the T-dress instead. The loose, flowy material felt strange after the clingy fabric of her work uniform. She dug out a pair of black capri leggings from her drawer and fell back on her bed as she tried to pull them on. "Sure you didn't hit the button in your sleep?"

"Positive."

"You were asleep. How can you be positive," Jun shot back with an eye roll. It was very strange, getting dressed while carrying a conversation. She really wanted him to get lost, but of course... he stubbornly ignored her when she told him to buzz off.

"Cuz I am!"

Good come back, loser. She rolled her eyes. This was going to prove a problem, she thought, if she ever got anywhere with Takeru. Daisuke would be around more, as the official guy best friend. And Jun was not entirely sure she was ready for that, though at least, so far, Takeru had proved to be understanding when it came to her relationship with her nitwit of a brother. That, at least, proved he was intelligent. Well, mostly. Why on earth would an intelligent person choose to hang around with Daisuke? It was a mystery beyond Jun's understanding.

A silver belt cinched her waist, giving the shapeless dress a more appealing look as it conformed to the restraints of the belt. She liked the affect. And then she slipped on a handful of silver bangles while Daisuke continued to mutter and rant on the other side of the door. She was much, much too used to it to actually care that much, but it was still annoying, and so she felt the need to say something about it.

"Get lost, dork, I'm getting dressed," she yelled, and she could practically picture Daisuke rolling his eyes at her. He did everytime she was looking for the hair dryer, her make up, a clean towel... basically, she was convinced he was jealous because she, unlike him, was not hygenically challenged. She waited until his heavy foot steps had died away before digging around for her make up, creating another haphazardous pile of discards before she finally located her charcoal pencil, some blush and lip gloss.

The hard part was making it look effortless... or like she was going to a real party after she loitered around the apartment for a couple hours. In fact... maybe that would be easier, she pondered as she flipped open her cell phone and sent a text to Ami. Maybe she could scrounge up some evening plans for them, as long as Jun promised to keep to herself anything concerning Takeru. She was convinced she could do it, or at least that was what she told herself. It was part of that 'calm, cool, and collected' image she was trying to adopt. Again, the brash, open obsessiveness hadn't exactly boded well for her before, you know?

By the time she deemed herself presentable without looking like it took as much effort as it did (for proof of the contrary, they would only have to look in her room, but most of Daisuke's friends were not quite that suicidal), others had shown up. Miyako, for one, that loud-mouthed girl with glasses who made Jun look quite forgiving where Daisuke was concerned (Jun rather liked that aspect, even if her wardrobe was terribly lacking), and her friend Iori, who from what Jun understood was a year or two younger than the others.

"Hikari just texted me," Miyako was saying. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her back resting against the couch. She adjusted her glasses, slimmer frames than the first time Jun had ever met her, but still. The kind of cute effect, Jun thought, was a bit spoiled by the spandex leggings and a sweatshirt that boasted Tokyo U's name. It was like a very strange vision from the eighties, and while retro was one thing... Well...

"When," Daisuke demanded. He had plopped onto the couch, a soda can in one hand and the remote in the other. He and Ken had turned on a soccer game earlier, one that the others were hardly paying attention to but that the duo had not torn their eyes from... well, until Daisuke had tuned into Hikari's name, that is. Jun put her hands on her hips and surveyed while Miyako held her phone out of Daisuke's demanding reach.

"Just now, idiot," she said, staring at him like Daisuke was challenged. She, Jun thought, was a _smart_ girl. "She said she's in the lobby." And when Daisuke leapt to his feet and sprinted towards the door, Jun distinctly heard Miyako mutter "Desperate much," while Iori patted her awkwardly on the arm. He seemed to be the quiet peace keeper of the lot, but that was all Jun could tell. She wasn't interested in him enough to know more. She had been hoping to hear something of Takeru, but when nothing more came up (aside from Daisuke's loud complaints that Hikari hadn't shown up yet), Jun sighed and went into the kitchen, hoping maybe she could find some food before he showed up so she didn't look like a total pig. Or did he like a healthy appetite? She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. She had no idea.

In the end, she settled for a can of cola and stole one of the bags of plain chips that made up a good third of Daisuke's diet. He had more than enough left, probably bought to fuel the teens throughout the night. Whatever the case, lacking one wouldn't kill him, so she opened it and crunched on the first chip just as she heard the apartment door open, quickly followed by Daisuke's excited exclamation of "HIKAR-Oh, it's just you."

"Nice to see you too, Daisuke," Takeru replied cheerfully. Jun nearly choked on her chip.

She peered around the corner to see Takeru sit on the arm of the couch, closer to Ken's end than Miyako's as he greeted everyone. A chorus of hellos replied. Jun forced herself to remain seated and took a long sip of cola as she strained her ears to listen. Sure, Takeru had said she should hang out with them, but that would seem... conspicuously weird, and she hated answering stupid questions. Besides, her heart was thudding wildly out of control. She took a deep breath, and then another sip. In that order.

"Where's Hikari," Daisuke demanded in a very loud voice, and Jun struggled to resist the urge to throw her can at him. Honestly! His one track mind was worse than hers sometimes. At least she was capable of thinking about more than one thing at a time... Well, Ami might argue that, but Jun thought she did a pretty good job. She frowned and went to town on another chip as Miyako replied with an exasperated "Do I look like her GPS system, Daisuke? Do I?!"

"You said--" Daisuke began lately, but Iori cut across him with a quiet "I think that was the door, Daisuke-san," just as Takeru went "she was on the phone with Taichi, Daisuke. Relax." From Jun's limited focal point, she saw the two exchange looks before smiling slightly. She felt a pang. She wanted that smile of Takeru's to be directed towards her.

Okay, so maybe her mind was pretty one-track too. But you know what? Daisuke was still a twerp.

"I knocked, but no one answered..." Hikari's timid, uncertain voice cut through the throng of argumentative voices like a knife and melted butter. Suddenly, everyone sounded cheerful and energetic again. Daisuke yelled a greeting to her before going down on Takeru for leaving her alone in the lobby (The knowledge that Hikari had been on the phone and asked Takeru to go on ahead was lost on him, and Takeru did not bother with a rebuttal), Miyako got up from her perch on the floor and hugged her best friend tightly, and Ken and Iori said hello from where they sat. Ken sounding as shy as ever, and Iori respectful, as though he were greeting a stranger instead of a friend.

But Hikari responded to them all with enthusiasm. Jun suddenly felt like an intruder on old traditions and friendships, despite the knowledge that one, they had only met eachother within the past couple years (with the exceptions of Iori and Miyako, and Takeru and Hikari), and two, that this was her house and she'd sat in on their little get togethers several times before. But never had she been conspiring to join their numbers as, well, a girlfriend... except for where Yamato was concerned, and he was of the older group of Chosen. It felt different, somehow. They didn't all hang out as a group nearly as much to make it feel strange.

"Takeru, Kaa-san wanted to know if you were coming for dinner after," Hikari said. Her tone held a grimace in it that made Jun wonder. Was it the idea of inviting him? No, no. They were best friends, which admittedly bothered Jun. Takeru would require Hikari's approval, no doubt. And Daisuke's... She shuddered. That was a hurdle she'd tackle when she came to it, she decided, if for no other reason than sparing her sanity for the moment.

"I was thinking we could order some pizza," Daisuke cut in. Jun had a suspicion as to why, but bit it back. She wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping, after all, but the uncaring sister who unfortunately had no escape plans until later in the evening. That is, if Ami came through. She let out a disgruntled sigh. Ami still hadn't responded to Jun's text yet. "I haven't eaten lunch."

"Daisuke skipped a meal," Miyako asked, sounding thoroughly shocked as Hikari giggled. "Say it isn't so!"

"He probably slept through lunch," Iori put in, and everyone tittered when Daisuke muttered a reply that Jun couldn't discern from the other room.

"Pizza sounds safer. I mean, good. I'll just text Taichi and tell him I won't be home for dinner," Hikari said. Jun ticked the seconds down on her fingers before Daisuke offered for Taichi to come over. And she wasn't disappointed.

"Tell him to come over! We can have a pie eating contest," Daisuke said brightly, and Jun smacked her forehead. Predictable baby brother, _you make life way too dull sometimes,_ she thought to herself. But then Takeru said something that sent Jun speeding into panic mode, and she couldn't find the damned brakes.

"Dai, d'you have anything to drink," he asked. She didn't listen to Daisuke telling him it was in the fridge, to help himself, whatever. She was too busy wondering whether she should hide the chips, ditch the soda, sprint to her room... but her room was in his line of vision if he was coming from the living room and.... Just as he turned into the kitchen, she had decided to adopt a bored-out-of-her-mind expression, staring at her phone in her hands. She hoped her cheeks didn't look as hot as they felt.

"Waiting for a call," he asked, pulling open the fridge door. He'd been over too many times to not know his way around, and so Jun didn't even go through the pretenses of helping him out.

"Text," she corrected. And she didn't know what she'd been freaking out about. Takeru's presence was surprisingly relaxing, like he was an old friend of hers rather than Daisuke's. "Was supposed to be going out later." Should she have mentioned that? She couldn't tell. Takeru raised his eyebrows, but he didn't look exactly offended either.

"And now you're not?" He popped open a can of cola just like Jun's and took a long sip.

"Dunno. She hasn't told me what's going on yet." Jun shrugged and pulled a chip from the bag, nibbling on it like a rabbit with a carrot while Takeru mulled her words over. He took another sip to excuse himself from not speaking right away.

"We were gonna throw in a movie, if Daisuke doesn't hide the remote again," Takeru said. "You could chill with us if your plans get cancelled."

_Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!_ "Maybe." She smiled. Not a conniving, scheming smile either, but a genuine one. "For a few minutes, anyway. I know how to get the remote back."

Takeru returned her smile. "So do I. Tell Hikari to ask for it."

They both laughed, and it felt good. Jun _liked_ spending time with Takeru, even if she had to admit to herself that they were stolen moments. The concert, the walk to work, and right now. They were moments he was expected to be with his brother, _her_ brother, his friends, but he chose to spend with her. And that felt good, knowing how Takeru was always the "good" boy. But what she wasn't sure of was, did he count her as part of the last category, or did she have a class of her own? It was a question she was too nervous to ask, and therefor didn't think she'd ever know the answer to. Ami chose exactly that moment to respond to Jun's text, and she jumped as the phone vibrated loudly in her hand.

"So, plans still on," he asked curiously, taking another sip. She couldn't help but think he sounded a little hopeful about the answer, but maybe that was Jun daydreaming. Her eyes flickered across the screen as they scanned the text message.

"Yea. Around ten, ten thirty though." She looked up from her phone to offer him a half-smile. "So I guess I can sit through a little of that movie."

Was she imagining the elation in his eyes, too? She must be, unless it was a mere reflection of her own emotions. Of course, she also had momentarily forgotten that it meant sitting through a movie with her brother, Miyako, Iori, Ken, and Hikari too. Only hormones had the power to create such a horrible lapse in thought, and she regretted it almost the moment she rounded the corner with Takeru, armed with nothing but her soda and the bag of chips, which was seized by her brother before she even had a chance to sit down.

"What're you doing out here," he demanded, crunching loudly on a handful of chips. Jun scowled at him.

"I live here too, dork," she pointed out, snatching the chips back with perhaps a little more force than was totally necessary. Takeru sat in the space between her and Hikari, something that dimly registered in Jun's mind as extremely awkward, though she ignored the thought for the moment. Sibling rivalry always seemed to take precedence to other matters at hand. "And I wanna see the movie. Is that a crime?" Daisuke's expression told her that it was. She scowled.

"C'mon, Dai. Where's the harm," Takeru asked with a shrug. It was then that Jun became disturbingly aware of just how close they were, like the elevator... Except this time, he had chosen his place. And they were surrounded by his friends, and the girl Jun thought he had hopes to be his girlfriend: Hikari. Suddenly, the idea of locking herself in her room till Ami came to save her didn't sound so bad, but it was too late to change her mind now. After all, Takeru was defending her right to stay there, she had insisted she wanted to watch... She sighed quietly, hoping no one would notice. She'd just have to endure. Besides, wasn't this what she wanted all along? There was certainly no denying that.

As it turned out, there were three movies on the venu for that evening, but they only succeeded in getting through two. After all, Daisuke's attention span required movement at some point during the night, and he insisted on playing video games after the first movie (Jun hadn't a clue what it was, and truth be told she was much too aware of the fact that Takeru had stretched his arms over the back of the couch, meaning one arm was behind her, to have been paying much attention to the screen), and after seeing that Takeru was sitting beside Hikari, Daisuke demanded that Takeru be the first to play him. Trust Daisuke to have Dance Dance Revolution as his back up plan. Jun had to admit, though, it was pretty good.

And although Jun couldn't squash the feeling of being an outsider witnessing a ritualistic gathering, she had to admit she had fun while waiting for Ami. Hikari smiled at her when she told a joke (best part was, it was at Daisuke's expense), Iori offered her a slice of pizza when the delivery guy arrived. Miyako told Daisuke to leave Jun alone...

It felt like a success story. She was accepted, even if only because they had little other choice when she had refused to leave. And it wasn't like she went out of her way to be a wrench in the side par usual. She kinda liked the idea of... belonging. Even if she didn't really. She didn't share the same bond. She was just a sibling of a Chosen, a fan of a brother,... Thoughts like that killed the thrill a little, but then Takeru would smile at her, ask if she wanted to play DDR (she was actually pretty good, she thought), and the thoughts dissipated.

"Jun!" The sound of her best friend's voice from the entryway was surprisingly depressing. It meant the end of her acceptance, a return to her usual form. She and Takeru looked up from the television screen, as he had demanded a rematch before the end of the night, to see Ami clicking her tongue impatiently. "I know I'm a little late, but come on." Her calculating green eyes lingered a little too long on Takeru's face, suspicion crossing her features. "Haruhi's waiting in the lobby. She's holding a cab for us."

Knowing that any excuse to get out of the party now would be useless, Jun sighed and stepped off the dance pad. Red "missed" signs flashed across the screen as the game continued on without her. She smiled apologetically at Takeru, who shrugged in understanding. His eyes didn't look annoyed, or even sad. Just warm, accepting... Was that a good thing? She liked to think so. Yamato never looked at her that way.

"You said you had to go out. I should've kept an eye on the clock for you," he said apologetically as Daisuke pushed past Jun to get to the matt. Well, geez. No love lost there, she thought with a glare towards the back of her brother's head. Honestlyyy.

"It's okay." Jun smiled. It was cute. But she didn't want him to blame himself either. She'd planned this, she told herself. This was everything she had wanted, and it had turned out perfectly. "Maybe next time." She shrugged. She knew that would irk Daisuke, and even Ami, but Takeru grinned. He liked the idea. Or at least, was too polite to say he didn't. Jun would take what she could get, to be honest. Ami cleared her throat loudly, and Jun ran to her room to grab her jacket and purse, waving to everyone as she left the apartment. Takeru's eyes were the last ones to turn away from her. And that made her feel strangely giddy.

"I guess I don't need to ask you how your day's been," Ami asked dryly, disapproval clear in her voice as they headed towards the elevator. Jun grinned and shook her head in agreement. Ami didn't want to hear it, and she'd promised she'd keep it to herself. This was going to be something different, she told herself. This was going to be something not superficial, like Yamato's rock star glamour. This was going to be _real_. She was determined.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: **I've decided this needs to be tied up, so expect a conclusion within four chapters (that will _not_ take me a year each to write, I promise!). I originally wanted it to be longer, but it seems reader interest as well as my own interest is dwindling, and I've got little inspiration for a time line of events between what's taken place thus far and the ending that I've had in mind since I settled on the title.

I think some people should be proud of how much fic writing I've gotten done on my sick and snow days. Just, you know, by the way. I've got a chapter for each of my multi-chapts underway! Whoo, progress!

* * *

Jun didn't see Takeru again for another week. A _week_! She was an independent girl, she insisted, but she fell fast and hard when it came to matters of the heart, and she didn't think she could survive with such distance. Ami insisted such distance was healthy, especially since Ami was still of the opinion that Jun's infatuation with Takeru bordered on picking kids up off the playground. Jun rolled her eyes at that; Takeru was five years _younger_, not five years _old_, but it seemed to make no difference to her best friend. So Jun kept her thoughts to herself, and it proved to be a challenging exercise. She wasn't very practiced in keeping crushes to herself. She was kind of proud when Ami pointed out that she hadn't mentioned Takeru in two days, although she had been annoyed at the questioning happiness in Ami's voice that suggested she thought Jun was over her crush. She wasn't. She was just planning how to succeed.

"Are you sure you don't just like him because he's a challenge," Ami had asked crossly when she realized what Jun was doing. Jun hadn't answered, because she thought it was a very stupid question. Why did there have to be an alternative motive for everything? Why couldn't it be as simple as "I like him"? Ami would have replied that it was because they were adults, and not toddlers, and so Jun didn't ask. She loved Ami, but sometimes Ami could be as irritating as Daisuke in her own way.

The thing was, she was right in one respect: Jun _loved_ the challenge. She always had, when it came to boys. The ones who immediately succumbed because they were flattered by a girl's attention weren't very fun. They were plastic romances, as Jun liked to think of them. There was no challenge, and things just fell together, and she wondered what they talked about. The challenge built dynamics. It gave you a chance to learn about them, to see who they really were, and to appreciate those quirks that made them special. The special ones never fell just because you wanted them to. They smiled and went "Is that all you got?" It was an intoxicating chase, and to find your hand entwined with one of the special ones was like baiting a ten, which also made you a ten. It was good to be a ten in the dating world. It was a competition, a game of snake and mouse. Jun had always been fascinated by snakes.

That week killed her, by the way. Not literally. Obviously, or there would be no story to tell. But she got all fidgety and anxious and she'd sign online after getting home from work only to realize one, he'd be asleep, or two, she didn't have his screen name. That was a crime in and of itself, but how to get it? Would stealing it from Daisuke arise suspicion? Or maybe not. She could think of this. It wouldn't be _that_ hard to outsmart Daisuke. She'd been doing it for years. And granted, she wasn't the snappiest pea in the pot, but they shared a gene pool, and in that pool, she liked to think that he was still using his swimmies while she was enjoying the deep end.

"Hey Dork," she yelled from her bed, where she sat cross-legged with her laptop sitting in front of her, comfy as could be in yellow flannel pajama pants and a matching sweat jacket. He didn't answer, which just made her exhale loudly in frustration. He could never make _anything_ easy, could he? No. Of course not. That was against the Pain in the Ass Baby Brother rule book, _wasn't it_? Scowling, she pushed her laptop away from her and jumped up from the bed. It was far from graceful, but she didn't really care. It wasn't like there was anyone to see; her door was closed.

She found him playing some online game on the home computer, his little...Digimon friend thing perched on top of his bush of hair and using the goggles as a sort of handle to keep from falling. Even Jun had to admit that it was kinda cute.

She had bought her laptop out of her own pocket money, but her parents preferred to have only one computer in the house to "keep an eye on things". Jun's argument? "Daddy, but I have school work and Daisuke's always on..." It had dulled her father's annoyance at spending such a large sum of her money on a laptop instead of putting it towards paying off the tuition costs.

"Dai-suke~" Jun called, placing one dissatisfied hand on her hip as she stood behind him. At first, he didn't reply. Then slowly, he caught her reflection in the screen where he was blowing up some medieval looking weirdos.

"Hm," he grunted questioningly. He didn't care what she had to say, she knew. Anything to shut her up. She doubted he'd even remember what she was asking of him.

"Do you have Takeru's screen name? He said he'd tell me when the next concert was so I could get tickets early," she asked, trying to sound sweet and not-as-bitchy as she usually did. She wasn't entirely sure it worked, but Daisuke hit 'pause' on his game to raise his eyebrow questioningly at her.

"Since when do you talk to T.K.," he asked, using the name that she had heard Yamato and a few of the other Chosens' siblings use once in a while. More often than not, he was 'Takeru'. Maybe it was a sign of his growing up.

_Take that, Ami! _She almost laughed. No way would Ami take that as proof that she wasn't cradle robbing.

"We both go to all Yama-chan's concerts," Jun scoffed, rolling her eyes for effect and using the nauseatingly cute nickname that another girl Jun was friends with had coined during a movie marathon sleep over one day almost a year earlier. "We were bound to chat eventually, Dai-chii," she added, just to see him squirm uncomfortably. He hated that nickname. She was chock full of ways to irritate him into giving her what she wanted so that she would go away.

"Flipexchange, okay? No spaces. Go away, I'm busy," he finished in a mumble, resuming the game play just as something lit up on the screen. "Shiiit! See what you did," he demanded, twisting around in the desk chair to glare at Jun. She smiled sweetly.

"Thanks, baby brother," she said with a small wave, hurrying back to her room while he mumbled about having to start all over. Boys and video games, what the heck was their deal?

She closed the door with her hip before throwing herself back onto the bed, laying on her stomach as she signed onto her messenger program. She ignored an IM that popped up from Ami, asking if they were still on for later that night. For such a quiet, icy girl, Ami sure found the best parties. It was beginning to annoy Jun's parents, but she'd yet to come home smashed – she went to Ami's if she had too much to drink – so for now, they kept their mouths shut. Not happily. They frowned whenever she came home late; they thought she didn't see, but she did. She just enjoyed her adolescence too much to do anything about it.

She minimized Ami's window – she had plenty of time to tackle that conversation – and added the screen name that Daisuke told her to her buddy list. At first, she worried she might have spelled it wrong, or that Daisuke lied. But then the name popped up in big, bold letters. He just signed in. Perfect timing. Jun smiled and clicked on his name.

_Hey, it's Jun, _she typed, and then she tapped 'enter' with her pinky finger before tapping her lower lip thoughtfully, waiting for him to reply. She didn't have to wait very long.

_Hey_, "flipexchange" entered. Jun beamed.

_Daisuke gave me your screen name. That okay? _She didn't want to come across as a creepy stalker or something. She really didn't. But how else was she going to get in touch without sabotaging Daisuke's school day, crashing their get-togethers, or hunting him down at his brother's concerts?

_Perfectly_. Jun grinned to herself. _What's up?_

_Just deciding what I'm doing today,_ she replied nonchalantly. _You?_

_Nothing, actually. It's barely noon, and you've already got a life? Aha, I'm jealous . _

_I'd be happy to give you a share,_ she typed, frowned, and deleted it. That sounded weird, didn't it? A little too flirty, even for Jun. Instead she entered: _What, no plans?_

_It's Saturday, _was his reply. _I'm not used to being home._

She frowned before the reason why clicked. Daisuke's soccer games were Saturdays, but it was the off season right now. They had practices, but scrimmages wouldn't begin for another month or two, if she remembered correctly.

_Poor baby, _she teased. _What have you been doing with all that free time?_

_Wondering what to do with it_. She could almost hear his laughter._ It's such a bummer. Catching up on some writing though. _

_You write?_ She was thinking, like, songs. She figured with a brother in the music industry, that maybe Takeru would pursue a similar career path. Or at least, he'd dabble in music. So his answer surprised her, and caused her eyebrows to rise into her hair.

_Yeah. I started a story over the summer, but with school and stuff I haven't had a chance to work on it. _

The boy who showed Daisuke up (several times) in basketball and tagged along with big brother to concerts was a novelist? She didn't know what else to say but: That's pretty cool. I never would'a guessed. She wondered if Daisuke knew. She liked the idea of knowing something that her annoying little bro didn't.

_My mom's a writer. Music and stuff runs on Dad's side of the family._ Jun just smiled and didn't really say anything, but rather mulled this over. She didn't know anything about his dad. Actually, she didn't know anything about either of his parents. She wasn't exactly close with Yamato. She frowned, looking up at a poster of The Teenage Wolves on the wall. She used to idolize that poster. Now, she had half a mind to get up and take it off the wall. Instead, she returned her attention to her conversation with Takeru.

_What's your dad do?_

_Radio production and stuff. I don't really know the details, but he works at the radio tower here in Tokyo._ Was that how Yamato got into music, she wondered? Maybe. It sounded plausible enough. But she was surprising herself to find that they were just vague questions, mostly out of habit. She wanted the answers because they were part of Takeru's life, not because it was another fact to add to the list in her diary.

_And your mom?_

_Journalism. So, not really the same kinda writing. But she has a lot of books. _

_That's pretty cool. Sorry if I'm being nosy._ She wasn't sure why she added that. It wasn't really her "way", she supposed you'd call it. She asked questions, and called it being friendly. But she got this feeling while she was typing, and she couldn't really explain it, but she felt like she might be crossing a line. She was toeing a fine one as it was, and she was suddenly struck by the thought that maybe he didn't like questions, like she was invading his space bubble or something. It made her nervous.

_No worries,_ he said, and as though to emphasize his point, he tacked on a little smiley face emoticon. It made her smile, too. That feeling was still there, that gut feeling telling her that he didn't like questions, but he didn't seem to mind them from her. That made her smile more, and she almost giggled until she remembered that her door was closed, but her room wasn't sound proof. Daisuke might ask stupid questions later, and she really hated listening to his inquisition. He always asked the wrong questions. It made it boring.

_I don't really feel like waiting until sunset to get out of the house,_ she told him. D_aisuke's playing a stupid game. Care to be dragged out of the house?_ He could take it or leave it, she told herself. It didn't matter. But it did. His answer meant a lot, and she didn't realize that she was holding her breath because her eyes were too focused on 'flipexchange is typing...'

_Uh, sure, I guess. I've got nothing else to do._ That was a yes, right? Boys. Why couldn't anyone just give a yes or no answer anymore, she thought with a scowl. But she was pretty sure it was a yes. She was taking it as one, anyway. _What do you have in mind?_

_I haven't had my daily dose yet, and I'm jonesing_, she said.

_That cafe place you were at when Daisuke and I saw you? The one near the court _ he asked. She raised her eyebrows, surprised he remembered.

_Mhmm. The very same. Meet you in an hour?_ She didn't know where he lived, exactly, but she assumed he didn't live quite as close as the couple of blocks she had to walk. And she wanted time to get ready, plenty of time. She _had_ to make an impression on this not-at-all-accidental meeting.

_Sounds good. See you. _He used the same smiling emoticon that he had used before. It was a really cute one, she had to admit. She returned the emoticon, and then dragged up Ami's window.

_Yepp. But I've gotta go; I'm seeing Takeru_, she added as a smug after thought, and then signed off before Ami could question it further. She could wait until later that night, Jun decided. It wasn't as though Ami had showed a vast amount of interest anyway, aside from calling Jun an idiot. A little curiosity wouldn't kill her. Right?


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note:** Sorry last chapter wasn't really... well, much of anything. I had something else in mind, but I needed a sort of set up, and then I couldn't rush the events _too_ quickly, so hopefully this chapter will be a little more fulfilling and more deserving of being called an update. XDD;

* * *

Jun felt like running. She would never admit it, but she was much like her baby brother when she had her heart set on something – or someone, as the case may be. She wanted to run into action, going one hundred miles per hour with a grin on her face. But she had been told that was called something like "abrasive" and "overbearing" and made boys afraid of her. Weird. She would have thought that enthusiasm was attractive, but apparently it was a turn off? Boys were so strange. It was exciting.

She had said an hour, and she lived only ten minutes away. It would be weird to show up now, and sit there. And too much caffeine would make her jittery by the time he _did _show up, and experience told her that was bad. She tried to channel Ami, who was still her best friend even if she _was _being stubbornly nonsupporting. Ami was always calm, cool, and collected. The three C's were her trademark attitude,what everyone knew her for. Jun had always envied her a little, but she had a difficult time reigning herself in when she got something on her mind. She couldn't help it.

But thinking of Ami... Jun frowned, pausing in the middle of pulling on a silver v-back tunic over her head. Ami was smart, and she was gifted with boys in a way that Jun could only sit back and envy. She wasn't shy talking to boys really, but Ami didn't go out of her way to talk to them. They came to _her_, and that was a pleasure that Jun had rarely experienced. She played offense, and Ami played defense. And Ami played the field a hell of a lot better than Jun did. Jun was sure that if she stopped _criticizing_, Ami would be able to come up with a lot of really helpful tips for Jun that didn't involve the word "lollipop" or "swingset".

Sometimes she really had to bite down on her tongue to keep from asking Ami: "Are you _sure_ you're my best friend?" She didn't think Ami would answer though. Ami had this thing about questions deserving responses, and that was if she thought it didn't deserve a response, she wouldn't offer one. She might roll her eyes, but she'd continue sipping her latte as though nothing had been said at all. It was infuriating to a girl who always had an answer for everything.

Shaking her head, she pushed thoughts of Ami to the back of her mind. She'd see her tonight, and she just wouldn't mention Takeru. I mean, Ami already knew Jun was planning to meet him in a little while. Ami never ignored her online messages. But maybe, if Jun didn't _offer_ anything, curiosity would get the better of her and she'd finally reveal a little interest in Jun's life aside from rolling her eyes and reminding her that there were plenty of boys their age who went to the diner where she worked, and couldn't she just smile and bat her eyelashes at one of them?

The phone rang; Jun ignored it and pulled her tunic the rest of the way down. Daisuke could get it, right? If he wasn't swallowed alive by that game. ...Then again. She frowned for a minute. That wasn't entirely impossible, considering, you know, this was Daisuke and even Jun had thought to pay a little attention to everything that was explained to her baffled parents after the world apparently almost ended or was swallowed in darkness. Something melodramatic and cinema-worthy like that, she remembered vaguely. Maybe she had paid less attention than she had thought.

Whatever, though. That could wait till later, like when she was completely dressed. Now, all she had on were her pajama bottoms and a very pretty tunic that looked more like a flowy mini- dress because she had bought a size too large in a moment of negligent shopping that had surprisingly paid off. She kicked off her pajama bottoms and dug through her drawer, a laundry basket, and a pile of clothes on the corner of her bed to find a pair of lacy, floral patterned black tights. She stepped into silvery gray ankle-high boots with a fashionable heel. A wide black belt cinched her waist. Eyeliner, smokey shadow, and a touch of lipstick and she felt ready to roll.

She smiled at herself in the mirror, winked, and grabbed her black purse with her money in it. She thought she looked pretty darned good, if she said so herself. She even had the additional excuse of a party later on to justify dressing up; even Takeru, dense as he must be to hang out with her baby brother, would quirk his eyebrow at her dressing up to go to the corner cafe. But Jun loved dressing up. She didn't need a very special reason to do it. But apparently it was like running into a classroom and shouting at someone; it wasn't exactly _subtle_.

She really hated that word. Was subtlety really _that_ important? If you asked her, it was overrated.

But if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? Was that how the saying went? She frowned. She didn't think she liked that one very much; it sounded like surrendering your principles just because you couldn't make someone agree with her. But there was another one, wasn't there? Pick your battles, and live to fight another day. Subtlety wasn't worth the fuss she could make, was it?

Oh Jun, you're growing up after all! Ami would be so proud.

Jun made a face at the thought, shook her head, and pulled open her bedroom door.

And almost walked right into Daisuke.

"Get outta my way, Squirt," she said automatically, taking a step back to avoid a collision. She did not think that her balance would be quite as awesome in heels, even if they weren't more than an inch or two high. But Daisuke was in socks and slippers; he would win that fight.

"Ami called," he said. But that didn't explain why he looked suspicious, and a bit ticked off. What, had she promised to do the dishes or something? She couldn't remember if she had; she always tried to _avoid_ doing chores. But she couldn't imagine what else would irritate him... besides her breathing, anyway.

"I told her I'm going out," she said evasively. "And I'm running late, so _move_." She tried to step around him, but he blocked her. Seriously? Not okay, Daisuke. She scowled. He was making her act ugly in a pretty outfit, and that seriously was pissing her off. "_What_?"

"She said to have you call her back when you get home from hanging out with Takeru." He narrowed his eyes, and Jun blinked.

_Ami, you traitor!_ She had half a mind to take the train to Ami's apartment and smack her right then. Telling her _baby brother_ what she was doing? She didn't tell Daisuke when she was with _her_ friends, no way in hell she was gonna tell him about talking to Takeru!

"Fine." She tried side step him again, tried hiding her agitation when he blocked her again. Stupid soccer. "Anything _else_, Baby Bro?" As if she didn't know what was irritating him; she wasn't _that_ thick. She could put two and two together. And so could Daisuke, even if it took him a while. She could see the gears turning, squeaking loudly as they ground together from disuse.

"Why did you want his screen name?"

"To ask about Yamato's concerts. I told you," she said with a scoff, but was it just in her mind that it wasn't very convincing? She couldn't tell. Daisuke looked doubtful, but there was a little confusion there too. He could put two and two together, but not four and one: he couldn't work out whether or not she was lying. She was, but you know. She wasn't helping him put any more pieces together than he already had. He'd tell Takeru not to talk to her. He'd tell Takeru nasty sibling-things that would _make_ him not talk to her. She wouldn't let that happen.

But maybe it was going to happen whether she had a say in it or not; Daisuke knew she was going to meet him, thanks to Ami and her big mouth. God, best friends or not, Jun could have _killed_ her just then.

"Why're you two meeting up then," he asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"He said he was bored and I want coffee, and Ami's working till two." She shrugged, like it was no big deal. Like the fact that he had accepted the invite hadn't made her heart thud with wild enthusiasm and her hands hadn't been shaking when she invited him along.

"Oh." Daisuke frowned for a minute, thinking hard. Honestly, Jun began to suspect that she smelled smoke. "Why didn't he just come over here then? I'd hang out with him if he was bored."

See? He asked all the wrong questions.

"I'll extend an invite after I get my caffeine," Jun promised, though she sounded a little snippy. She wasn't imagining it: she _was_ smelling smoke. "Do you have something on the stove?"

"N...Oh. Shit. Shiiit, Demi-Vmon!" Daisuke yelped and sprinted towards the kitchen, and she could see him slide three feet on the tile as he raced towards the microwave. He had put the popcorn upside down _again_. She didn't know why she yelled for the midget; it wasn't the Digimon's fault, unless he had trusted something smaller than the bag of popcorn itself to put it in and do it right. She rolled her eyes.

Oh yeah. She had to worry about him, but not because of her _social_ life. Well, not really. It was for his own safety.

She grabbed a light black jacket and stuffed her keys into the pocket before leaving the apartment. It was going to smell like burned popcorn all day, she thought mournfully. If she wasn't careful, the smell would get into her carefully planned outfit.

- - - - - -

Takeru was already sitting in the cafe when she got there, trying hard not to look like she had sprinted the entire block (even if she had). He had a book out, although she couldn't tell what it was from this distance. He looked up when the bell over the door sounded, and grinned when he saw her.

"You're not too late. I just got here," he told her as she approached the table. She sighed with relief and shrugged off her coat.

"Sorry," she said anyway. "Daisuke almost blew up the microwave." It wasn't the reason she was late; actually, it was the reason she wasn't later than she already was, but it would make for an interesting conversation starter at any rate. And sure enough, Takeru's eyebrows shot up.

"What'd he do?" He looked torn between frowning with concern and chuckling, and even she had to admit that the mental visual it must have conjured would have been pretty amusing. Daisuke flailing, trying to stem the flow of smoke from the door as he propped it open to try salvage his food.

"Put the popcorn in wrong." The explanation wasn't nearly as humorous, but Takeru shook his head with a chuckle. Maybe it was a _gotta love Daisuke_ moment that she couldn't quite connect with. "Lemme order up, and I'll be right back," she promised, heels clicking against the tiled floor of the cafe as she approached the counter. Takeru had nodded, smiled, and gone back to his book. Shakespeare, she had seen when he closed it as she approached. The English version of one of the plays. She figured it was for class or something. But then, he wanted to be a writer, right? Maybe he really did read it for fun. She wrinkled her nose at that. Even when she did read for fun, it wasn't things like Shakespeare plays and English classics, or even classic Japanese literature. It was things like chick-flick worthy modern novels and romances that made your heart swoon and envy the heroins because they had the looks, the brains, _and_ the boys. Even on their worst days.

She came back with a chocolate mocha latte topped with whip cream and chocolate syrup dripped over the cream. It was like heaven in a mug, and Takeru raised his eyebrows at it as she sat down.

"A sweet tooth _and_ a caffeine addiction? So unhealthy," he joked. His coffee was plain, and black, and she stared at with distaste.

"Not a sweet tooth. A fan of favor," she amended. He laughed. "You don't want sugar or anything?"

"Nah. True coffee lovers drink it with all its black glory," he grinned, and she laughed. Seriously, _why_ did he hang out with her ickle brother?

Oh. Speaking of. "By the way, Daisuke said you're welcome to come over whenever you're bored." She shrugged and used her straw to tackle the mound of whip cream, but Takeru set his cup down with a _clink_ that made her look back up curiously.

"He's not too happy I'm hanging out with you, is he," he asked. He was frowning. She mirrored his frown; she didn't like his frowning.

"He's not happy with the fact that he can't figure out how they powder cheese, either," she pointed out. He didn't laugh though. He just sighed and sipped his coffee again. She mimicked the action.

"We're friends one minute, then I screw it up or he says something dumb the next." Takeru shook his head, looking flustered. Jun doubted the first part; the second one, however, sounded right on target with Daisuke.

"Should I leave then?" It didn't mean to sound like a challenge, but Jun realized it kind of was. She had liked their interactions being relatively secretive to all except Ami. But she realized that she'd have to at least admit to being _friends_ with him; he wasn't the kind of guy to keep secrets, not from his friends. And if he told her to leave, she wouldn't throw a fuss. She might be really upset, but she'd leave. She'd delete his screen name. She'd go back to treating him the way she did all of Daisuke's friends: like they didn't exist in her realm.

But he didn't say no. He looked shocked that she suggested it, and fidgeted with his spoon unnecessarily – it wasn't like he was adding milk and sugar to his cup or anything. It was just something for him to focus his attention on.

"No... No. I mean, Daisuke gets mad that I hang out with Hikari too, but I'm not going to stop talking to her just because he doesn't like it."

The difference there was that Daisuke had a crush on Hikari. And Hikari wasn't his sister, obviously. But Jun bit down on that thought and kept it inside. Hey, she was getting pretty good at that!

Besides, had she just found herself placed on the same level as Hikari? She knew they were good friends, old friends from childhood from what she could discern when she actually paid attention to Daisuke's friends when they were over. She wasn't sure if she should feel smug or not. So she filed that feeling away for later; she'd figure it out after the party, when the stress of the day began to unwind and she was in that peaceful place between sleep and being awake when she got her best thinking done.

"Make sure you tell him you said that. I've already got enough Hateful Bitch points in my account," she said with a small smile, returning to her whip cream. Takeru returned the smile, but he looked uncertain. She couldn't tell if it was because he really didn't want to be the one to tell Daisuke that, or because he wasn't sure if she was kidding about the Hateful Bitch points. She'd leave that for him to figure out.

"You should hang out with him later though," she said, although there was a small voice in the back of her mind that was calling her an _idiot_ for giving her brother a prime opportunity to trash her every which way to Tuesday. But Takeru looked genuinely worried about Daisuke being upset or mad or _whatever_, and she had spoken without thinking. She obviously wasn't getting _that_ much better at that 'thinking' and 'restraint' thing. "Drag his butt away from that stupid computer game."

"The role playing virtual reality one," he asked, eyebrow quirked. When Jun nodded, she was happy to see he rolled his eyes instead of talking excitedly about the game like every other guy she seemed to mention it to. "Honestly. He can go _in_ the computer, and he still..."

"Yeah. Well." She didn't know what to say to that. She had no idea what the Digital world was like, and felt a little awkward hearing about it when she had a feeling she never _would_ know. Momoe, another close friend of hers, had found herself with a partner. A few other people had too. But Jun hadn't. Not yet, anyway. It was a little depressing, not that she'd admit it. Everyone looked so happy talking about it, like it was this secret club she couldn't get granted access to. It was seriously irritating; she'd developed a habit of either changing the topic, or tuning it out whenever it came up recently.

Maybe he had sensed that, too. "He could go outside too. He lives in one of the biggest cities in Japan, and even during carnival weekends he wants to sit on that game. Like you and caffeine," he joked.

"You just compared coffee to a _computer game_," she asked, not really feigning her stunned stare. Takeru laughed. She liked his laugh. She didn't like her amazing cup of Jo' being compared to her brother's dorky computer game.

"I guess that's not fair," he allowed, bowing his head in acknowledgment. "You can have a life _and_ get your fix at the same time."

"I always was better at multitasking than he was," she agreed. Conversation was so easy with him, like talking to any guy her age. He was more mature than she expected of Daisuke's age, although maybe that expectation was _because_ of Daisuke.

Takeru chuckled. "So. You're dressed up," he pointed out, and he sounded a little curious. She was right to presume that it wouldn't get passed him, but she also felt very smug that he noticed what she was wearing at all. That had to be a good sign, right?

"Party later. Such a waste to get dressed twice in a day," she shrugged. 'Sides, she was hoping she would have plans that carried until Ami wanted to meet up, but she didn't voice that thought. She was keeping a lot to herself, letting out a little at a time so as not to scare him away. It was working, right? She thought it was. He was still smiling, and he didn't look uncomfortable. The book was closed and put to the side, neglected. She couldn't be _that_ poor company. For some reason, that book's presence felt like a measure of her worth. Like, if he was bored, he would be reading instead of talking right? If he wanted to leave, his hand would be on the book like he was ready to book himself. That was what she told herself; it acted as a measure of console when she began to second guess herself.

"That was the one you were talking about online, right," he asked. "Sounds pretty fun."

And then she got an idea. One that would tick off that traitor of a best friend, and Daisuke. Daisuke was almost regrettable; he'd be helpful on her side when she was trying to get with one of his best friends. But he didn't _have_ to know about the party right? Unless Takeru told him. She sure as hell didn't plan on it.

"Just how fun does it sound, exactly?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: **I've been having a hard time figuring out how to include all the aspects into this story that I actually planned the beginning chapters around, expecting that they would occur later on. But with dwindling interest (both on my part and some readers, to no one's fault but my own and the passage of time) has made it more crucial that I decide which elements to do without, and how to include the ones I can't bear to eliminate. Hopefully I've come up with a happy balance, as well as a moderately decent way to include a few requested occurrences that I thought were interesting concepts.

By the way, I meant to have this up earlier but I was having _so_ much trouble getting it going. And then my friends were here for new years, and between the holidays and school starting up again, among other things… Ah man, it's just been crazy. Sorry for the delay, m'loves.

I also apologize for the swearing. Daisuke-muse was not letting me filter, despite my best intentions.

* * *

Looking back hours, days, and weeks later, Jun still wouldn't be able to tell you how she got him to go to that party. The conversation had gone a little something like this:

"That was the one you were talking about online, right? Sounds pretty fun." Takeru had picked up his mug and sipped carefully at it; he was going to need a refill, she observed. Jun still had plenty of her own drink left; she had been nursing the whipped cream for most of their conversation thus far.

"Just how fun does it sound, exactly?" Takeru frowned inquisitively, trying to figure out what she meant by that, and how he was expected to answer her. It was fairly obvious that when he opened his mouth to answer, he still hadn't figured it out.

"Um..." He didn't have an answer, not even one he could bullshit through until he figured out what she meant for himself. So Jun decided to give him a little nudge in the right direction. "I don't know, interesting I guess. You hang out with Miyako's sister, right? Is she going too?"

Why he would want to know that, she had wondered with annoyance. But he didn't look particularly fascinated with getting an answer; it was just a polite question, a way to stall while he figured out where she was going with such a simple question. Watching the wheels turn was fun, more fun than Daisuke. Takeru's seemed to turn too quickly for him to grasp what was right in front of him. It was kind of cute, you know?

"She might be. A lot of my friends are," Jun shrugged indifferently. It didn't matter to her if they were going. Maybe it had mattered last night. Maybe it had mattered just a few hours ago when she woke up from a dream, only to remember the party and smile and wonder who she would see, who she'd be glad if she didn't, and who she might meet. But now, all she wanted to know was if she could talk Takeru into going.

He didn't answer her at the café. Just nodded and went back to his coffee. They sat in relative silence for a while, although not once did his hand move to cover the book as though longing to peel open the pages. Not once did she see his eyes flicker towards the door or the window, longing to venture into the world beyond and away from her. He just sat there, intently drinking his coffee in silence. It was absolutely maddening. Maddening, I tell you!

"Daisuke wanted me to come over, right," he asked after a little while; Jun didn't pretend not to notice the change in conversation. She rolled her eyes, but otherwise she left it at that. He was such a boy.

"Yeah." _Jealous twerp_. But she kept that part silent. She didn't think it would be a good way to get into Takeru's good graces and talk him into going to the party with her, you know? Insulting the best friend of either gender never worked very well in your favor. Even Jun knew that life lesson.

"It's okay if I go over for a bit this afternoon after all?" She didn't know why he was _asking_. She had remembered to pass along the 'anytime' clause right? It was an offer both Daisuke _and_ Jun actually agreed on extending, and Takeru was being overly polite and considerate as usual.

"You said you don't have anything to do today, didn't you? So go ahead." She sipped at her latte; she had worn down the whipped cream to little more than a frothy dream that lightened the thin surface of her drink. It was gone after the first sip, and she dabbed at her lip with the back of her hand for fear of a frothy moustache. Nothing was there.

"You don't mind?" He sounded skeptical, like she actually _did_ mind, and she actually laughed. The sound seemed to confuse him. He frowned and drew his brows close together.

"I might have known you existed for a while, but we weren't actually _friends_ till recently, so I'll let you slide," she joked, setting her drink down. "If I minded, I wouldn't invite you over to begin with. If I minded, I would have conveniently forgotten that Daisuke asked me to say anything at all." There was a shadow of a smile on Takeru's face. She didn't add that she probably would have said he should come over whenever he wanted even if Daisuke had told her to tell him never to darken their doorstep again; maybe it was implied, she didn't know.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled and pushed his coffee away; it was empty. "I'll stop over for a little. Wouldn't want poor Daisuke to feel left out." The sad thing was Jun thought he was actually serious. Crushing on someone who actually _liked_ her brother was such a pain sometimes.

They didn't talk much on the walk back to the Motimiya apartment. Jun had said all she had to say, and although people considered her ruthless and unrestrained, she liked to think that she was working on a new front. Or maybe it wasn't new. Maybe it had always been there, this little voice telling her "slow down, cut it out, _think_" that, like her mother's advice, she more often than not chose to ignore. Instantaneous gratification had always been on the menu, but she was beginning to wonder if maybe holding out a little and weathering the storm might provide better results. And if it didn't, well… she'd try this once, and then say "screw this" and go back to reckless and irrational and _fun_. But she could try responsible and slow, just once. It was fun to throw people off their footing a little, she thought.

But she was also being hard headed and stubborn, and as much as she didn't like it, she couldn't deny that to herself. She had put a lot on the table here: she had taken down her poster of the Teenage Wolves last night. She had taken her diary of all things Yamato and thrown it away (and kept herself from writing one about Takeru, just in case Daisuke might chance upon it). She had even considered canceling her online ticket order, but reconsidered; she might be able to use it as a way to hang out with Takeru again, provided… Well, provided a lot of things. And a head strong, take charge girl like Jun didn't like how much was out of her hands this time around.

When they did talk, it was silly things, like how he had seen a salad advertised as a "vegetarian salad" in a restaurant, which made them both laugh. After all, it wasn't like steak slapped on top of the lettuce leaves was considered ordinary for a house salad. If anything, he said, they ought to make a warning when a salad _isn't_ vegetarian. That way, people would thank the house for the heads up instead of walk away shaking their heads in suppressed laughter.

Gag conversations seemed to be Takeru's comfort zone because he could get the easiest responses to them, and upon discovering that Jun wouldn't _not_ reply to a funny or ridiculous story, he had proceeded to tell her about a video of a heavy-set, middle aged man singing nonsensically and smoking in the shower with his face messily slathered with shaving cream. Ridiculous, Jun had insisted. No one would waste their time with such a ridiculous video. But obviously, Takeru shot back, somebody had, and it had quite a few hits… if only, as his theory went, because people would watch it again trying to figure out _why_.

As lame of a conversation ice breaker as it may seem, it worked. Jun forgot about ignoring him until he decided whether or not he wanted to go to that party because it was just _fun_ to talk to him. She spent so much of her time pretending to hate Daisuke (although sometimes she really wasn't pretending; he could be _seriously_ annoying), trying to impress people by acting cooler and older and more suave than she really was. But Takeru _wasn't _older, didn't _care_ about being suave, and was just happy and jubilant and it was a bit contagious, to tell you the truth.

"I still swear you're jesting about that video," Jun insisted. A multi-lingual speaker since his childhood years, Takeru had been telling her about YouTube, which she didn't use herself because she couldn't be bothered with changing language settings and had never done particularly well in her English courses. That was the site where Takeru had found that ridiculous video, and it made Jun both happy she chose not to use the site, and consider going through the hassle to tackle the language settings just to be able to use it once she was alone in her room.

"I'm not! I swear, it was the stupidest thing. Which is part of what makes it great, you know." Takeru stood to the side, leaning against the hallway wall while Jun dug for her keys in her handbag. "It's so small," Takeru commented, changing the subject as he cocked his head curiously towards the bag. "And yet, you fit so much stuff inside. It's like a black hole."

"And my keys are probably on the other side," Jun replied. She didn't understand much about the scientific stuff concerning black holes, but she remembered when she was little hearing about how black holes were like warps that could spit you out on the other side… albeit in a billion particle sized pieces. If it was right or wrong, she didn't know because Takeru didn't correct her or comment. He wasn't big on correcting, making people look stupid, or things like that. Unlike Diasuke, he actually lived by 'If you have nothing nice to say, then don't speak'.

"And Daisuke's probably either passed out on the couch, or too engrossed in the TV or computer to hear you," Takeru commented, rolling his eyes in a good-natured way. When he _did_ seem to speak ill of someone, he made it apparent he was only teasing, even if it was true stuff. And the fact was, in this case he was one hundred percent correct. He was a lot more mature for someone the twerp's age, and for being the twerp's friend. (The twerp, of course, was Daisuke-chibi.)

"Probably. Ah, wait," Jun said, enthusiasm raising the volume of her voice. She beamed and pulled the keys from the mess that was the inside of her purse. "Found 'em!"

"Don't put them back in," Takeru advised teasingly as she unlocked the door. "They only just got out to breathe."

"But I change my jacket every day," Jun argued. "Classic black clutches go with everything."

"And seek to destroy everything unfortunate enough to land inside," Takeru replied without missing a beat. He was smiling.

Jun scowled (all in good fun) and hit his arm in a teasing slap. He feigned looking hurt, just as Daisuke looked up from the couch. Takeru had the angle of advantage, for Jun's back was still to her brother's second favorite place in the entire apartment (as it placed second to the kitchen, where there was obviously food), and it was Takeru who spotted Daisuke's expression darkening as he watched them, suspicion burning in his eyes. Jun followed Takeru's gaze as his smile faltered, and rolled her eyes at her little brother. Inside, though, her heart was thumping so wildly that she wondered if Takeru could hear it.

"Hi Dork," she greeted, a standard hello between the siblings. Daisuke narrowed his eyes at them, a look she remembered seeing when Takeru was sitting next to their friend Hikari during some of the times the lot of them had hung around the Motimiya apartment.

"You two look chummy," he said, and Jun thought the words sounded eerily like a challenge, like daring them to say they weren't really friends or anything and that it had been entirely coincidental, even though Jun knew that _Daisuke_ knew where she had been going and who she was meeting up with. Thank you, Ami. You made home life kind of suck almost as much as that time Jun's phone got taken away for going on a date with a boy from the higher grades without telling her parents.

"Coffee was good," Jun told him, shrugging with more nonchalance than she felt inside. Takeru took a very small side step away from her, so small that it might have almost been coincidence, if you couldn't cut the tension in the air with a knife. Mind, you'd need a butcher knife and some pretty good muscle power. The tension was _that_ thick.

"I bet." The retort was childish, but it still stung of the same suspicion and disbelief. Jun shrugged again, feeling annoyed now. This was a game she was well acquainted with.

"Well, I've gotta call Ami back," Jun replied cheerfully, neglecting to add that she was likely to use every insult in every language that meant _back stabbing bitch_ that was in Jun's arsenal, whether it meant Google-translating it or not. She thought she could come up with two or three off the top of her head. "Play nice."

"Yeah. See you, Jun," Takeru said, heading over to sit next to Daisuke, who followed the action with ever-narrowing eyes. They were squinting nearly shut by the time Takeru sat on the couch, one leg draped over the edge of the arm chair. "I kinda wanna play Tekken. You game?"

"_That_ game is ancient," Daisuke complained, but he began thumbing through his disk collection anyways as Jun left the boys to their toy – their very expensive toy – and headed or her room. The second her door shut, however, she could hear Daisuke's voice rise. Unable to resist – considering she had a pretty good gut feeling as to what Daisuke was flipping his lid over – Jun leaned against her closed door and leaned the side of her head against the cool wood in hopes of hearing exactly what was being said. After all, she had a feeling neither Daisuke nor Takeru would tell her all the finer details.

"What the hell are you playing at," Daisuke demanded. She heard a thud, and figured he had put down his disk collection with a bit more force than necessary.

"Keep it down, Dai," she just barely heard Takeru mumble; she granted that he might have said it a little more loudly, but the wood against her ear made hearing a little bit like looking through a keyhole: things looked and sounded a bit distorted when you weren't right there in the middle.

"Screw that. What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Playing. At," Daisuke said loudly, slowly emphasizing each word. He held favor with swears and profanity when he was pissed. Or bored. Always, really. But he sounded really ticked off.

"I'm not playing at anything. You won't put the game on," Takeru pointed out; Jun cringed despite the fact that she wasn't in the room to see Daisuke's face. His reply was calm, but cool, and she could imagine Daisuke's face in reaction to Takeru's calm snark.

"You know what I'm fucking talking about," Daisuke spat. "Don't play dumb." Takeru said nothing, but Jun was fairly certain he was making that thin line his mouth forms when he's thinking and doesn't like the conversation. "What the hell is with you and my sister?"

"She's not as bad as you make her out to be," Takeru pointed out, and Jun glowed at the… compliment? Well, it was defense against Daisuke's tirades, which made her happy because Takeru had actually _encouraged_ her own against Daisuke.

"Fucking answer me, 'Keru."

"We had coffee. I helped her get into my brother's concert because she's a fan. I'm allowed to _talk_ to her, aren't I?" He sounded annoyed.

"Depends," Daisuke replied, although with considerably more heat and sneer. She couldn't even see it, and Jun wanted to wipe the look off his face. Stupidly suspicious. Annoyingly accurately so, at least in Jun's case. She still wasn't one hundred percent certain about Takeru. He was a weird one to read.

"On what." It didn't sound like a question, although the words implied that it was. They sounded like a challenge. _Just try it, try to tell me what to do_, they said. _I'm gonna make you eat those words._ Maybe they didn't say exactly that because Takeru was too nice to say them, but that was the gist of his cool tone that made Jun shiver despite her sweater dress.

"On what you want with my sister," Daisuke replied.

"You're being stupid," Takeru spat, annoyed as Jun had ever heard him. There was this exasperated impatience in his voice, and Jun realized that there was a feeling of familiarity there too. Takeru was annoyed because this wasn't the first time he'd said those words to Daisuke because of his friend's jealousy over a girl. But the last girl had been Hikari, hadn't it? Never Jun. Not till now. "I think I'm gonna go home after all. Mom might want help with dinner."

"Right. Whatever," Daisuke mumbled, and Jun pulled away from the door. There was nothing else to hear, and she felt her heart thudding wildly. And she felt… guilty, sort of, because she had come between friends, even if she had been working on pissing off her little brother daily since the day he learned to speak. Probably before that, but Jun couldn't remember any earlier.

Even if Jun didn't actually care what Daisuke approved of or thought (because he wasn't so good at the second, let's be honest), she knew that Takeru did, deep down. So she couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness, the sadness that overtook her as she sank down onto her bed and ran her hands through her hair. How did that stupid saying go? _Bros before hoes_, and while Jun glowered at the idea of being called a ho, she knew the basic connotations. Friends before girlfriends, the boys before the girls, ball games before candlelight dinners,… It all boiled down to one thing in her mind: _He's not going to go to that dumb party now._

Sigh.

Her phone vibrated in her bag that she had thrown carelessly at her feet. She stared at it for a minute, wondering stupidly where that annoying sound was coming from before she figured it out. And then she dove, digging frantically through the small purse (It really was a black hole, honest), fingers grazing against everything except –

"Hello," she asked, trying to sound calm and cheerful, like she hadn't just listened to her brother smash her heart and wasn't suffering severe disappointment about the upcoming night, nor like she was contemplating putting her best friend's picture on a dartboard for ruining the secretive thrill she had been experiencing for the past couple of days whenever she talked to Takeru.

"Jun, it's Takeru. Um. Your cell number was in an away message the other night; I know I should've asked instead of just taking it but –"

"It's fine," Jun said quickly. Her heart was thudding wildly in her throat. "What's up?"

"Um. I was… I was just wondering," he stammered, and he sounded nervous and hesitant and for some reason that made her even _more_ nervous because Jun's manicured finger nails were clutching her phone, wondering _what the hell was he trying to spit out_? She was tempted to ask, but she bit down on her tongue to keep from saying anything involving swear words and not nice language. After all, Takeru was the one she _wasn't_ mad at.

"Hm?"

"Is it too late to accept the invite to that party?" His voice sounded a little stronger once he finally got the sentence out, like it took all his nerve to say it. Too cute.

"Never," she promised.

"Good. I'll meet you at seven. Um, in the lobby," Takeru added as an after thought, and Jun could imagine him running his fingers uneasily through his hair. Lying and going behind someone – Daisuke's – back was not in his nature. But Jun was practiced at it.

"It's a date," she replied coyly, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. It was the ultimate test, his reply. Was this a friends thing? A "I'm doing what I want whether you like it or not" message to Daisuke?

There was a brief pause.

"Yeah." She could hear the smile in his voice and punched the air silently with her fist. "It's a date."

Jun smirked when she hung up the phone. She'd won, the battle anyway. Maybe they weren't a couple yet, and that was okay. She could move a little slow, she could take a step back. She'd been doing a pretty good job of that so far, hadn't she?

"Take that, Ami," she murmured, clicking on her friend's screen name. She'd show her. Ami didn't know what she was talking about, and she'd crossed the line. Jun glanced at the door on the off chance that Daisuke would come barging in before typing furiously at her keyboard. Ami had some 'splainin' to do.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: **And here we are at the last chapter of Rumored! It makes me kinda sad to think about – when I started writing this story over a year ago to _YinYangWhiteTiger_'s crack challenge, it had this elaborate plot with a planned twenty five chapters in which drama and hardship would eventually bring us to where we are now. This chapter is one of the few I never changed as I made efforts to shorten the fic as interest dwindled. (I'm still trying to figure out where the hell I got Junkeru from.) I feel I may have failed the challenge; I never got the chance to develop the plot enough to include Digimon (Chibimon's minimal involvement was supposed to act as a cue). Still, shout outs and thanks to all my encouraging, helpful reviewers who made me keep going this long. Cheers to the completion of my first longer-than-two-chapters fic!

A little personal note, for those of you who have asked how things are (because I haven't really had a chance to reply to reviews or PM's) , my mom's doing alright as far as I've been told. Her surgery is Wednesday, and she'll be out of commission for a few weeks. And I got accepted into uni, and start at the local university in the fall as a Professional Writing major! Orientation is Thursday, and I'm really psyched. Thanks so much to everyone who's sent their best wishes. You are the best readers ever. Srsly.

And yes. The entire story was centered around the last sentence. I'm kind of like that.

* * *

Win.

It was the only word on Jun's mind, and she was fighting very had to keep from running into the living room to shout it in Daisuke's face. After all, Jun could take _something_ resembling a hint. It took her a while, maybe, but she heard the hesitation in Takeru's voice before he suggested the lobby. Maybe he wanted to see her, but he didn't want _Daisuke_ to see _him_.

Take that, twerp.

But still. What right did _Daisuke_ have to butt into _her_ social life? So Takeru was one of his friends. One of his close friends. So what? Had he flipped a shit on Yamato for being nice to her… before, when she first met him? To her knowledge, the answer was 'hell no'. This was just a silly game he was trying to play, but it didn't matter because Jun was winning. Takeru had called _her_. Takeru had said yes to _her_!

It was better than what Daisuke got for pining after Hikari. And besides, Jun thought a little unkindly, pausing in touching up her make-up to frown into her vanity mirror, shouldn't he be happy? Takeru was one less obstacle in the way to getting Hikari in Daisuke's mind, wasn't that right? So shouldn't Daisuke stop butting into Jun's life and go ruin his own? It'd make everyone, Jun thought sourly, a lot happier.

"Stupid baby brother," she grumbled, putting down her mascara with a snap. But she was determined to make it the last time she would grumble that night. No one wanted a grumpy puss for a date. She grinned. Takeru had called it a _date_! Well, she had said it first, but he had agreed with it and echoed the words without a question mark or anything negative like that. It was a good sign, Jun thought. A very good sign.

She glanced at the clock. It was nearly seven, the time that Takeru had suggested that they meet downstairs in the lobby. She knew the reason; he didn't want a row with Daisuke, considering it had been mere hours since Daisuke insisted that both parties stay away from the other.

He had always been bad at sharing, Jun thought, conveniently forgetting that she herself refused to share her toys unless they were broken or boring. He had gone too long under the impression that they couldn't share circles, friends, but he was wrong: her best friend, aside from Ami (whose position was seriously in question as of late) was one of his friend's sisters. They already _had_ shared circles; this was only a matter of time, she thought as she brushed a strand of hair away from her made up eyes.

She glanced at the clock again. 6:55. It was time. By the time she reached the lobby, even by elevator, it would be only a minute or two after seven. Fashionably late without inconveniently tardy. Perfect timing. With a smirk of a smile, she slipped on a dark gray jacket and picked up a black purse, already equipped with an emergency make up kit, money, her mp3 player, and her cell phone… not that she thought she'd need the last two until the very end of the night if things went according to plan. She hoped she wouldn't need them at all, but it never hurt to be prepared.

"Where are you going," Daisuke demanded nosily from the couch as she stepped out of her room. His little… Digi-thing was bouncing on the cushion next to him, giggling every time he came landed with a _whuff_ of impact. It was kind of cute, Jun thought. The thing was growing on her, even if her baby brother was still as uncute as he was the day she asked her parents if they could return him at the hospital for a puppy.

"What's it to ya," she shot back, immature though it may be. She wasn't particularly thrilled with her baby brother, but let's be truthful: when was she ever?

"I saw how you were with Yamato," Daisuke said, his voice unusually serious. "Don't drag Takeru into your sick fantasy land." Daisuke hadn't stood up, but he was watching Jun with narrowed eyes. Thinking back to what she had overheard him saying to Takeru, Jun was confused. Who was he trying to protect, anyway?

Or had he said what he thought Takeru would listen to? Daisuke wasn't actually known for being _nice_ to Takeru. Jun blinked and shook her head as she grabbed a cookie from the jar on the counter. Why was she trying to understand her brother's brain, assuming of course that he had one to begin with. It was a futile, wasted effort, and she was going to be late for Takeru – more so than she had planned. After a brief pause, she reached for a second cookie.

"Sick fantasy land?" She snickered. "How's Hikari?"

She was rewarded with Daisuke's blush, his stammering that Hikari had nothing to do with this.

"Whatever," Jun said loftily. "I'm late for meeting Ami." Not a total lie, she thought. Ami _was_ going to be at the party as well. Jun just wasn't going with her.

"I'm serious, Jun," Daisuke called after her. "Lay off!"

Jun didn't reply save for clicking the door to their apartment shut behind them, ignoring the funny feeling in her gut that told her she was betraying her little brother. But she wasn't really, she reasoned. And as she jogged towards the elevator, letting her excitement get carried away while there were no witnesses but a little boy with his skateboard in hand whose presence was practically insignificant to Jun. She nibbled on her cookie while she waited for the elevator to descend, bouncing on her toes impatiently. The second cookie was in her other hand, and her purse was thrown over her shoulder. She was saving it for Takeru, an apology of sorts for being a few minutes late.

"Oi, Jun," Takeru called, bringing her attention to the couch area of the lobby where Takeru was waiting for her. It was a place with plastic coated couches and outdated magazines where residents and guests could wait for taxis and buses and what-have-you. She smiled, both out of gratitude for helping her pluck him out in the lobby where people kept walking past and in front of her so that she couldn't get a grip on where anyone was and out of excitement. This was a fun evening. Her faint anxiety over Daisuke's words was forgotten, at least for now. She'd worry about it later, she figured, along with everything else. Why think about a bridge before you have to cross it, right?

"I was wondering if you'd chicken out on me," Jun said, her tone light and joking as she closed the distance between them. She held out a cookie. "Peanut butter chocolate chip. You know you wanna try one," she tempted, waving it in front of him. He accepted it with a wry grin.

"Thanks. What is this, my reward for not 'chickening out'," he asked, putting noticeable emphasis around her words with the same affect as using air quotes. Jun grinned.

"Maybe. I never pegged you for a party boy."

Takeru chuckled, his face mimicking her grin. "I'm down for anything once."

"Anything," she asked.

He shrugged. "Why not?"

Jun didn't have an answer. She wasn't exactly known for thinking through actions before jumping into the fray. If it sounded fun, or at least not excessively dangerous and dumb (like robbing a bank or wrestling a bull, for example), she was all for it.

"I'm beginning to think that good boy persona's just a façade," she teased. "Just who are you?"

"Full of surprises," he said mildly. She thought he was kidding, but she wasn't so sure. He had a certain tone to his voice that she found difficult to discern. So, as was her policy, she didn't bother. If it was important, she'd figure it out. Eventually. He glanced at the clock over the lobby desk, where a security guard was always sitting half asleep with a coffee cup in hand. "We should get going, ne? We'll miss the train, won't we?"

"I guess." Jun didn't really care; she hadn't bothered to tell him that seven was a bit early for a party, but it'd take them a bit to get there no matter what time they left. Trains got crowded, buses got delayed. It was an inevitable fact of life when you lived around Tokyo. "We're gonna hop off a few stops early though," she warned him.

He looked at her, confused. "Why's that?"

"Trains are a real bitch near Roppongi," she said with an indifferent shrug. His face turned a funny shade between normal and white.

" We're going to Roppongi," he asked, his voice raised a pitch above average. Roppongi was a well-known party district in Tokyo, known for clubs and other such goings-ons that understandably would make innocent Takeru's voice kinda squeak. Jun almost giggled, but she thought he might feel insulted if she did. So it was with the greatest effort that Jun kept a straight face while she shrugged and replied, "_Near_ Roppongi. Don't worry, we won't go to the clubs. But the trains are obnoxious there. We'll walk some of the way, if you don't mind."

" I don't mind." He cleared his throat. His voice sounded normal again, if not a little uneasy. He obviously did not understand the concept of _party_ above the age of eighteen, Jun thought, but that was kind of to be expected when he hung out with a guy who still forgot that candy wasn't a food group.

Jun grinned. "Good."

She glanced at her phone to check the time, and quickened her pace. Takeru hurried to match her step, glancing over his shoulder as though they were already in the unfamiliar, rowdier party district instead of merely running a few seconds behind schedule. Jun laughed openly.

"You're going to bail on me, aren't you," she teased, and again his cheeks flushed a dull pink.

"No," he insisted. He put on a remarkable act of calm after that, although she noticed he stuck close. She didn't mind. She let her arm brush against his as they stepped onto the crowded train platform, but didn't reach for his hand. He stiffened, and she bit her lip to keep from smiling.

Okay, so maybe some of the fun was in the game. But he was so _cute_ when he blushed! She simply couldn't resist the seemingly innocent touch to the wrist, talking into his ear to be heard against the crowd, letting her lips "accidentally" brush against his lobe as she spoke. No one would recognize them there; she could flirt shamelessly, without fear of being caught by Baby Brat or their friends. None of them were the sort to go to Roppongi. Goody-goodies.

It didn't seem like a very long time at all before the train was pulling into Roppongi's station, surprising Jun. She really had intended to get them off at the stop before. They had to forcefully elbow and push their way off onto the platform, and even then Jun wasn't simply clinging to Takeru's wrist to flirt with him. She was honestly afraid of having to explain to his _mother_ that she lost him in Roppongi. She wouldn't let that happen. If he got lost, she would throw herself in front of the train.

Maybe not. Histrionics are hard to quit, though.

"Where are we going, exactly," Takeru asked. It had been a long time since either of them had spoken, having lapsed into a silence first out of necessity (It had been so noisy around them.) and then simply because it hadn't become too awkward to change. It was kind of nice, a refreshing change of pace, to be with someone who didn't _talk_ all the time.

"Not far now," she replied, although it didn't really answer the question itself. She led him down a side street, past neon lights and flashy signs, past store fronts with revealing clothes and gaudy jewelry, to an apartment building that showed signs of recent remodeling – a look around the corner of the building would show the original state, hidden by a neglected alley.

"Here," he asked, looking up at the windows. It seemed as though every light inside were on, although they were dim. Bodies moved behind the flimsy curtained windows.

"Here," Jun confirmed, knocking twice on the door before turning the handle and leading the way inside. This time, she did grab Takeru's hand, and smiled to herself when he didn't pull it away. She wanted there to be no questions about where the 'kid' came from, for he certainly looked younger than the university guys who were around the television, although Jun couldn't fathom how they were following the program – a match, for what and between whom, she couldn't say. Takeru stayed close, innocent eyes wandering, growing more tainted the longer she kept him inside, where bodies pressed close together as they danced to the music pumping through speakers set up in the corners of the rooms, the vibration of the bass nearly drowning out any conversation. It rose like a hum, so that everyone had to shout just to be heard.

"Jun! You... made it," a familiar voice said, although it was hard to tell from Ami's tone just what she was thinking. June wasn't sure if she was actually pleased, or if she was irritated.

"It was a bit of a train ride," Jun replied, voice equally void of emotion as she caught her best friend's eye.

"This is Ishida-sempai's baby brother, isn't it," Ami asked. "And your baby brother's friend. I've seen him at your place a few times, right?" As though she didn't know.

"Takeru," he said, voice light but slightly reproving. Ami ignored him.

"I didn't know we could bring guests," Ami said to Jun. "Does Ishida-sempai know he's here?"

Jun shrugged coolly. "No one stopped us at the door." She ignored the rest of Ami's probing questions.

"Huh."Ami's cool, calculating gaze was fixed on Takeru, who smiled uncertainly in return. But instead of smiling back, she turned her attention to Jun, a slight twitch at the corner of her lips the only sign of her displeasure at seeing him there. "Are you sure he should be here? A bit young, isn't he? You're corrupting Japan's youth," she said with a teasing smile, but her joke didn't quite reach her eyes, which still said she thought Jun was making a big mistake. But there was nothing in the friendship manual that said the best friend was always right – and if there was, it was a dumb and archaic rule that should be scratched out in the next edition, in Jun's opinion.

"We won't be drinking, so what's the problem?" The thin, pressed line Ami's lips formed said she could think of quite a few problems, but Jun didn't give her the chance to express them. Reaching for Takeru's hand, she wrapped her fingers around his and gently pulled. "Time to mingle. See you, Ami," Jun said cheerfully, but her airs were extremely forced, and she let out a loud sigh once she was sure Ami couldn't see them in the crowd anymore.

"Hey Jun," Takeru asked uncertainly, although he had to shout it twice over the din for her to hear him. When he had Jun's attention, he said, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Shoot," she replied, waving her hand for him to proceed. But he shook his head, looking more uneasy.

"Privately," he clarified. She frowned, but nodded, and led him to the upstairs section of the house – dumb upon reflection, for that was where all couples were going to get a little privacy of the kinkier kind. A few people whistled and grinned as they walked up the stairs, and Jun felt her face grow hot despite their innocent intentions. But she was more worried about what seemed to be bugging Takeru than what people she didn't even know thought of them. If he was worried about Ami...

Well, he might be pretty justified there. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

Takeru walked straight into a room with the door left wide open, ignoring Jun's hesitation. (She was lying when she said that she wasn't worried about other people's opinions). He seemed to think nothing of standing alone in a bedroom with her, the only light coming from the street lamp outside and a bed-side lamp with a thick shade that cast an eerily orange light over the immediate area surrounding the nightstand.

"You weren't supposed to bring me here, were you," he asked, very straight-forward despite the look of unease on his face. He didn't want to offend her, she realized, more so than he was nervous of what he was saying. He wasn't a 'fraidy cat, after all; he had accepted Daisuke's dares during Truth or Dare without a moment's hesitation, she remembered from one of the few times she had been stuck at home at the same time as them.

"I didn't ask," she admitted.

He bit the inside of his cheek; he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her.

"Why does it matter? You're here; we might as well enjoy the party," she said. She went to turn back, to walk out of the room back to where people were, but he reached out and held her shoulder.

"Why'd you invite me? Your friend is downstairs," he said. After a brief pause, he added, "and not too happy that you're here with me."

"Ami's never happy," Jun complained, but she couldn't tell him he was wrong. She wished he could. He looked really worried.

"You're going to fight about it." It wasn't a question, but a knowing statement. One she didn't really need to answer, but Jun's obstinate nature wanted to anyway.

"She has no right to tell me who I can hang out with," she scoffed.

"She didn't know I was even coming," Takeru pointed out, sounding rather confrontational now – like he was wanting Jun to disagree with him, to tell him he was wrong. Problem was, he wasn't. When Jun didn't say anything, he dropped his hand from her shoulder, but not the conversation. "Why didn't you tell her," he demanded to know.

"The same reason you didn't tell Daisuke."

"You didn't either."

"I don't tell him my work schedule, Takeru," Jun said with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "We aren't exactly buddy-buddy. _You_ guys are. So, why didn't _you_ tell him," she shot back. He blinked, like he wasn't expecting that.

"I...He wouldn't like it, me hanging out with his big sister," he mumbled. His cheeks looked pinker, but she wasn't sure if he was blushing or if it was an eerie effect of the weird lighting in the room. Most of his face was distorted by shadows.

"Really now," Jun said dryly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Ami doesn't like it either," he said, and again, Jun didn't feel she needed to answer him. "So... why? Why did you invite me?"

"Because I wanted to." She dropped her arms to her side, narrowing her eyes at him as though expecting him to argue with her – over whatever. He seemed in the mood to find a better answer than she actually had for him. She really didn't know why she wanted him there herself, except that she did. A lot.

"But –"

"Because," Jun pressed on, cutting over his words and speaking with the blunt forwardness she was infamous for, "I like you."

"...Oh." This time, she was certain he was blushing. His entire face was a dull shade of pink, and he looked embarrassed to meet her eyes. "But... If Daisuke finds out..." He tried to take a step back when she took a step towards him, but he knocked into the dresser. She caught his arm to help him keep his balance and didn't release it.

"So he won't find out," she replied simply. He looked uneasy again.

"And your friend –"

"Doesn't need to know either. And so what if she does?"

"She could tell Daisuke," Takeru pointed out.

"She could," Jun said quietly. She took a step closer, and this time Takeru didn't move. His breathing was shallow, like he couldn't get enough air. "But so what?" This time, she meant it as she leaned in, her lips brushing against Takeru's when she spoke again in a whisper: "Let's get rumored, together."


End file.
